Interview: Krysta Rodriguez Opens Up About Her Diagnosis- 'This Will Be the Most Fun Cancer That I Can Come Up With!'

By: Mar. 01, 2015
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As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Broadway veteran Krysta Rodriguez recently announced that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Rodriguez, who last appeared on stage in FIRST DATE opposite Zachary Levi, revealed the news on a new blog she's started, titled ChemoCouture.

Rodriguez, who is 30-years-old, was originally diagnosed with a stage 2B ductal carcinoma last fall. Currently undergoing chemotherapy, Krysta has been staying positive by chronicling her journey and sharing fashion tips on the blog. Below, she chats with BroadwayWorld about why she decided to go public with the news, how she plans to balance treatment with her career, why she's been grateful for all of the Broadway well-wishes, and so much more.

One of my favorite things that you wrote in your first entry was that you wanted to "live as loudly as you could." Can you talk more about that?

I really enjoy getting dressed in the morning. That's where it all starts from. I enjoy adorning myself and having a good time with how I look. It's a part of my artistic expression. So one of the things that I knew would happen with chemo was that that would all change... or at least it would be different. I started looking at hats and scarves and things and I started feeling very hidden. It was like "Let's hide what's going on with our head and what's going on with our illnesses. Let's cover our diseases." I realized that what I wanted to do was just be very over the top about all of this and accent it as much as I can, because that will be more fun for me, and more positive for me. They are coming at you with a list of side effects, so instead of figuring out, "How am I gonna deal with this?" it's been a fun creative challenge.

And I figured it would also be a great way to get other people involved if I actually spoke about it. Originally I was just going to do this for myself at home. When I was looking online and wrapping scarves around my head, I was like, "No, no no. I want a purple wig! I want a mohawk! I want something way more fun than this." So I thought that maybe I could reach people who were going through the same thing. I've found that the more I talk about this, the more younger women I find, who cancer is affecting. So I thought that if I could find a couple of other people who thought "Hello, Cancer! Here I am!" instead of "I don't want to tell anybody", then that would be great.

I think a lot of times in the generation above mine, you have children, or a reason to really keep it together and be more subdued. I think that's a personal choice and that's a great thing as well. For me though, because I have a little bit of youth on my side an fashion under my belt, I figure, why not marry the two together?

I've been reading along and I've been in such awe of how you're able to talk about this with such lightness. Was it always your intention to bring that kind of positive perpective to it?

I don't think I had an intention about it, it just sort of happened! I was in California with my mom when I was diagnosed, and oddly enough, we laughed more that day than I can ever remember laughing in a while. I can't even really describe why. Your life becomes so different and so absurd so fast that you just roll with it as fast as you can. I don't think I sat and thought, "Ok, how am I going to approach this?" Things happen so fast that you end up gone with it. Somebody actually said that on the blog! She said, "The things that would have horrified you before amuse you now." You just never expect these things to happen, so if you have a good support system, you can start laughing and embracing what is coming next. It becomes your new reality so quickly. It happens.

That's who I am too. I'm a really sort of zappy, quick person with a lot of things. It just comes out that way. And that's the best compliment that I hear from people when they are reading the blog. They say, "It sounds like I'm having a conversation with you!" That's great, because I don't know how to write! I'm not a writer. So it's just like having a conversation with me- that's how I talk. I say things because they make me laugh and make others laugh and it makes us all feel better!

You've said that though this was just recently diagnosed, that the tumor has actually been there and growing for five years. Have you thought at all how different your life might be today if the doctors had caught it back then?

I don't, but I certainly will now! It's actually a really great question, because the type of cancer that I have, if it had been found five years ago, the treatment course would have been completely different. It would have been removed as a lumpectomy, probably pretty quickly. No other treatments would have been required and I probably would have been on my way with no problem. The problem was that because it grew so long, it became so big. I think it actually might have affected my life then, but it probably would have been a much smaller blip. It probably could have even been something that I did, but not something I spoke about. Now it's obviously affecting me in a much more physical way, and I'm a little bit older now, so there are some fertility complications and things like that. I just think now that it's time to talk about it.

It seems like you've been getting a lot of love from your Broadway family!

Yeah, absolutely! I hoped that they would! They are my family. Especially so many of them who I didn't tell, I hoped they'd be supportive and maybe enjoy the blog, and even with theatre fans really. It's really reached a different group of people than I even expected though, which has been really exciting. I'm hearing from young women who have been diagnosed with cancer at an age that isn't expected. That's been really rewarding for me, because it helps me too. It helps me to hear from other people who have been through it. It's been great to have my friends and colleagues support me and throw their weight behind me, but it's also nice to hear from people who have been through it. I feel like I get the best of all worlds.

I know you're set to do a 54 Below show next week with some of your old SMASH friends...

Yes, and I can't wait!

Does that mean that your still going to try to work as you continue treatment?

It's a little bit of a play it by ear thing. I started with a different treatment before chemo. I was able to work during that. I shot a film, and was doing all kinds of things. No one would have even known. Once the chemo became something I had to do, I had to change my mind about how I wanted to approach work. What I settled on is that I would become a "writer" for the next few months so that I could do something while I'm laying in bed all day. That's what I do for about a week after my treatments. I stay pretty still to get through the sickness. That's where the blog came in as well, because I can't just sit around and do nothing. It's so NOT my personality. That became my new work.

As far as my other work goes, I wanted to give myself permission to heal and get better. That being said, if something comes up during a time that I CAN work, then I'm more than happy to do it. I love working. It's still a huge part of who I am! I'm a performer and a singer. If something can fit in that time, then I'm more than willing to do it. I'm happy and grateful to do it. I'm also learning though that if something sounds like a little too much, to just say no. It's kind of a great position to be in actually! I just get to decide as they come.

You have a lot of people out there who are pulling for you and following your journey with this. What do you want them to know?

I think I just want to thank everyone for coming along this crazy path with me. I really appreciate the support I've been getting. I'm so grateful for how those people, without missing a beat, are behind me for whatever situation I'm in. It feels really great. I want people to be excited for what I have coming up! We're gonna have a lot of fun. This will be the most fun cancer that I can come up with!

Rodriguez's stage credits include First Date, The Addams Family, In the Heights, Spring Awakening, A Chorus Line and Good Vibrations. On TV, she recently showed off her musical prowess in NBC's SMASH and has also appeared on Gossip Girl and the TV movies Iceland, Shadow of Fear and It Could Be Worse.

Click here to visit ChemoCouture.

On March 3rd, Jeremy Jordan, Krysta Rodriguez and Andy Mientus will look back at their time on Smash and sing the songs that inspired the creation of their characters, as well as trunk songs from the "Bishop & Collins" songbook in a one-night-only concert engagement at 54 Below. Audiences can expect to hear songs featured in the second season of Smash, as well as contemporary classics from the musical theater canon and some of the pop/rock tunes featured on the show. In season two of Smash, Jordan, Mientus, and Rodriguez played burgeoning musical theater writers "Jimmy Collins," "Kyle Bishop," and Broadway actress "Ana Vargas," respectively. The three actors have since starred in Hit List, the meta-musical from the second season of Smash at 54 Below last winter, and have continued to excel both on stage and screen while remaining the closest of friends.

For more information and tickets, call (646) 476-3551 or visit http://54below.com/artist/this-will-be-our-year/

Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy, make-up by Alex Michaels


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