Justin Bartlett, a metal artist who's worked with bands like Cadaver and Hooded Menace, has been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. Though he is carrying an optimistic demeanor, a GoFundMe page has been launched by his sister to assist with his medical bills.

"I haven't had to share with the world that I have cancer before, so please excuse the mess. It doesn't feel 'real' sometimes that I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer a few weeks ago, but considering just 4 or 5 days before they thought it was pancreatic, I'll take the lesser of the two evils," Bartlett wrote in an Instagram post, which you can see below.

The artist goes by the moniker Vberkvlt, and primarily works with metal artists. His style combines his passion for metal with occult imagery, and has been featured on album covers and in gallery exhibitions.

I think most people would find the depiction of some strange ritual inside a dripping, rotting cave to be a little strange…. But in terms of being truly disturbing, or ​dark’ — that’s really in the eye of the beholder," he once described of his aesthetic to Kerrang!. "It all comes down to your frame of reference. I’m sure the average Kenny Chesney fan would be a bit more ​disturbed’ by my artwork than the average metalhead.”

According to the GoFundMe, Bartlett has undergone three surgeries since his diagnosis, and will be starting chemotherapy soon. Though he's in a lot of pain and has been in and out of the hospital several times, his girlfriend wrote that his doctors are optimistic due to the range of treatments to try. The fundraiser has a goal of $60,000, and over half of it has been raised since it was started on Feb. 7.

12 Stories Behind the People on Iconic Rock + Metal Album Covers

More From KZCD-FM