Broadway’s Sara Chase Says She Started to 'Sob Uncontrollably' Reflecting on 'Lonely, Secret' Cancer Journey

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Steve Zak Photography/FilmMagic

Steve Zak Photography/FilmMagic

Sara Chaseis detailing the “double life” she lived while dealing with cancer.

However, two weeks after starting to rehearse for the show, Chase received a call from her doctor and was told they found cancer in one of her fallopian tubes.

“Thankfully, it was caught early, but the standard of care was an immediate full hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and six rounds of chemotherapy every three weeks,” she wrote in a personal essay forTODAY. “I couldn’t believe what he was telling me.”

“I went into rehearsal the next morning and didn’t tell anyone. Mostly because I was in denial,” she said. “If I said it out loud, it would be true. That I have cancer. That I am rehearsing a Broadway show while being treated for cancer. Or maybe I thought someone would try and take my dream away from me. Or people might treat me differently. Best to keep it to myself until absolutely necessary, I thought.”

Sara Chase.Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

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Chase said she found herself living a “secret double life” while undergoing treatment. She would meet with her doctors early in the morning, get blood work done and then stash her hospital bracelets before heading to her Broadway rehearsals.

“Two weeks after my diagnosis, I secretly got a full hysterectomy, oophorectomy and cervix removal,” she wrote. “Four days after that, I was on stage singing and dancing in full costumes and wigs like nothing had happened. (For the record, I do not recommend this.) I hid my scars with compression garments underneath my costumes, and I hid my pain too.”

The actress recalled experiencing a lot of the side effects of her treatment alone while at work, having to pretend as if everything was okay.

“As people were telling their friends and family about this new Broadway show they were in, I was telling friends and family about what to expect in the next coming months. My colleagues met with stylists; I met with oncologists,” she said.

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The following week, Chase said she told her cast the truth about her health. She ultimately took a leave of absence and relied on understudies in order to finish treatment.

“And this time, I know I’ll be even stronger,” she said.

source: people.com