Sara Chase is opening up about the “double life” she led while quietly battling cancer.
The Broadway actress had just secured her dream role as Myrtle in the musical adaptation of "The Great Gatsby" when she decided to undergo a preventative surgery to remove her fallopian tubes. At 41, Chase opted for the procedure after testing positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, which significantly increases the risk of developing cancer.
However, just two weeks into rehearsals, Chase received a life-changing call from her doctor informing her that cancer had been found in one of her fallopian tubes.
“Thankfully, it was detected early, but the recommended course of action was a full hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and six rounds of chemotherapy every three weeks,” she revealed in a personal essay for TODAY. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
Despite the shocking diagnosis, Chase went back to rehearsals the very next morning without telling anyone. “I was in denial,” she admitted. “If I spoke about it, it would make it real—that I had cancer, that I was rehearsing for a Broadway show while undergoing treatment. I worried someone might try to take my dream away or treat me differently, so I chose to keep it to myself until it became absolutely necessary.”
Chase described her experience as living a “secret double life.” She would visit her doctors in the early morning hours, undergo tests, and then discreetly hide her hospital bracelets before heading to the theater for rehearsals.
“Two weeks after my diagnosis, I secretly underwent a full hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and cervix removal,” she shared. “Just four days later, I was back on stage, singing and dancing in full costumes and wigs as if nothing had happened. (For the record, I do not recommend this.) I concealed my scars with compression garments under my costumes, and I concealed my pain, too.”
The actress recalled enduring the side effects of her treatment in silence, maintaining a facade of normalcy at work.
“While my colleagues shared the excitement of being in a new Broadway show, I was informing friends and family about what to expect in the coming months,” she explained. “My co-stars met with stylists; I met with oncologists.”
When opening night for "The Great Gatsby" finally arrived, Chase found herself standing in her dressing room, overcome with emotion, and “started to sob uncontrollably.” The intensity of her treatment and rehearsal schedule had left her with little time to truly process what she had been through.
“I’ve heard that the journey through cancer is incredibly lonely, and I’ve found that to be true,” she reflected. “No matter how many people are in my corner (and I have so many wonderful people), no matter how many people applaud for me or greet me at the stage door, no matter how incredible the cast and crew are around me, this was ultimately something I had to face alone.”
She continued, “But as I stood on stage with just a spotlight on me, my secret hidden in plain sight, whatever I had been feeling earlier melted away and was replaced with pride.”
A week later, Chase finally shared her health struggle with her cast. She decided to take a leave of absence, allowing her understudies to take over while she completed her treatment.
Chase concluded by saying she finds comfort in the knowledge that she will soon return to the stage.
“And this time,” she said, “I know I’ll be even stronger.”
The Quran - Chapter Al-Qalam : 35 - 36
Should We then treat those who have submitted like the wicked?
What is the matter with you? How do you judge?
