F E AT U R E
By Jesse Scheckner
J
ared Rosenstein was about to start working for a future Congressman when he found it, a lump a quarter the size of a pea. His doctor ordered tests, and the results confirmed it was embryonal carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of testicular cancer. He had just turned 24. But this story isn’t a tragedy. Rosenstein beat the disease, making fast, tough and smart decisions with support from family, friends and top cancer experts. Today, he’s cancer-free, a partner at Capital City Consulting, and one of Florida’s top lobbyists, splitting time between Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee. But a decade ago, his diagnosis terrified him. It also made him angry. “I decided I was going to rage against this,” he said. “Your mindset is the way you beat this. I was mad, and I used it to motivate me.” His first calls were to family. Then he contacted South Florida lobbyist Ron Book, a mentor since college. Book urged him to seek treatment at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of Florida’s three National Cancer Institute-designated centers. “I never hesitated to send him there,” said Book, who has since battled prostate and throat cancer. “Sylvester has top professionals and cutting-edge research. And you want cancer care where you live, with family support.” Next, Rosenstein called U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, who was then beginning his second term in the Florida House. Moskowitz had just hired Rosenstein as a legislative aide.
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INFLUENCE Spring 2025
Expecting his new staffer to confirm a start date, Moskowitz instead got the bad news. “I literally made a joke. I said, ‘That’s terrible, but you’ll be OK. And is that why you need the job — for health insurance?’ Jared laughed,” he said. “Cancer has been a current in my life. My dad died of pancreatic cancer three years ago. He also went to Sylvester for treatment. Jared knew him pretty well. So, when Jared crossed five years of being cancer-free, and he’s remained cancer-free, that’s a big deal.” Sylvester removed the tumor, then presented two options. Dr. Dipen Parekh, now COO of the University of Miami Health System, told Rosenstein he could do chemotherapy, which would make him sterile, sick and debilitated. Or he could undergo an innovative but invasive surgery called retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in which his abdominal lymph nodes would be removed and his nerves would be severed and then reattached. The surgery would take place at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Rosenstein had one week to decide. He took minutes. “I thought, ‘I’m young. I can bounce back.’ The risk is