But a few months after he started, unusual rashes began to appear on his legs and underarms. He learned he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and started radiation therapy.

After three years of cancer treatments, Mr. Gonzalez was also laid off.

He needed to take care of his student loans. The federal government and his private lenders all deferred his debt for at least six months.

Mr. Gonzalez expected New Jersey to do the same, but the agency refused, requiring him to pay at least $500 a month. With unemployment checks as his only income and burdened by continuing health expenses, it was too much for him.

He made no payments while the agency reviewed his case. In June 2014, Mr. Gonzalez moved to Florida to lower his cost of living. His health slowly improved and he started his own company, developing technology for small businesses. In his first year, he made just $26,000, but he started to pay back his federal and private bank loans.

On May 8, 2015, after months of hearing nothing, he received an email from New Jersey: His deferral request had been denied and his loan was being sent to a collection agency.

“Unfortunately, because of how the loan originated, the authority is not in a position to offer forbearance or relief,” Robert Laird, a program officer at the loan agency, said in the email.

Terrified by what a default would mean for his credit rating, Mr. Gonzalez told the agency that he would stop paying for health insurance and use the money — $200 per month — to repay the loans.