05/31/2026
KEEP FIGHTING!
Lately, I can't open Facebook or Instagram without seeing it.
A celebrity battling cancer.
Someone I used to know going through treatment.
Someone I used to dance with fighting for their life.
A parent.
A child.
And sometimes—the hardest ones—the news that someone didn't make it.
I ask myself: Am I noticing this more because cancer is now part of my own story?
Maybe.
But I also think something real is happening. Cancer is touching more lives than ever, and many of those lives are younger than we ever expected.
People blame lifestyle. Food. Stress. The environment. Some of those things may be real. But here's what I've personally witnessed.
My mother had Stage 4 liver cancer—the same type I have.
She never drank.
Never used drugs.
Lived a healthy life.
And I've met many patients with the exact same story. They did everything right, and they still got cancer.
Sometimes I wonder if genetics plays a bigger role than we realize. That's a difficult thought to sit with.
Here's something I haven't said out loud very often—but it's time I do.
If you've noticed that many of the events I've been organizing and hosting lately seem to have a fundraising element to them, you're not wrong.
They technically are fundraisers, even when I don't always label them that way. And I admit...
It still doesn't come naturally for me to ask for help.
But here's the truth.
Right now, I am temporarily in the clear, and I'm grateful for every day that I have.
But cancer came back once before, especially when I thought the battle was over.
Because of that experience, I've learned something important:
Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
I refuse to be caught off guard again.
So I'm preparing physically, financially, emotionally, and mentally while I still have the opportunity.
I'm treating this like a game of chess.
Cancer may have won a round before, but the match isn't over.
I am studying my opponent.
I am anticipating its next move.
And I am already setting up my next moves before they're needed.
Plan B.
Plan C.
Maybe even Plan D.
Because that's what fighters do.
We don't wait for the storm to arrive before preparing for it.
We prepare while the skies are still clear.
If future treatments—or even transplant options—become necessary someday, the costs could be enormous, potentially reaching millions of dollars over time.
That reality doesn't scare me into giving up.
It motivates me to prepare.
That's one of the reasons I have kept my GoFundMe active.
Not because I want sympathy.
Not because I expect others to carry my burden.
But because if cancer ever returns, I want to be prepared—not scrambling and starting from zero.
My goal is to put myself in the strongest possible position by the end of 2026.
And if you're reading this while fighting cancer yourself, I want you to know something:
I understand the fear.
I understand the waiting.
I understand the scans, the blood tests, the appointments, and the uncertainty that comes with them.
I understand what it's like to hear good news and still wonder what tomorrow might bring.
Some days you feel strong.
Some days you feel tired.
Some days you feel invincible.
And some days you don't.
That's normal.
What I've learned is that being a fighter doesn't mean you're never afraid.
It means you keep moving forward even when you are.
It means you continue making plans.
You continue loving people.
You continue creating memories.
You continue living.
Cancer may become part of our story, but it does not get to be the entire story.
In the middle of all this, I'm organizing my 60th Birthday Celebration of Life at Allegro Ballroom on July 17–19 - www.rodchata60.com.
After that comes Hawai'i Dance Expo in October—which will be my final year organizing it—and then one last Las Vegas event in December for all the hardcore bachateros.
After that, I plan to retire from hosting large festivals and focus on healing, family, health, and whatever adventures God still has planned for me.
Putting together this 60th Birthday Celebration of Life has been one of the most emotional experiences of my life.
(By the way... if anyone knows a great Salsa or Bachata band available that weekend, let me know!)
I reached out to friends, artists, DJs, instructors, performers, and colleagues from different chapters of my life.
And something beautiful happened.
About 50 to 60 percent of them immediately said yes.
"I'll be there."
"I'll teach for you."
"I'll DJ for you."
"I'll perform for you."
"I want to celebrate life with you."
These are respected artists. Busy people. People with families, careers, and obligations of their own.
Yet they didn't hesitate.
Many of them shared something I wasn't expecting.
They told me I had helped them at some point in their journey.
That I gave them an opportunity.
That I believed in them when nobody else did.
That I opened a door for them.
The truth is, I never did those things expecting anything in return.
I wasn't keeping score.
I was simply doing what felt right.
And that's when it hit me:
We never really know the impact we have on other people until life gives us a reason to find out.
Through all of this, my friend Ismael Otero continues to send me the same two words:
"Keep fighting."
Two simple words.
But they mean everything.
My sister Kathy Reyes constantly checks on me, telling me she loves me, that she's praying for me, and that she's always there for me.
And another sister, Lynette, organized a fundraiser for me in Los Angeles.
It's funny how the simplest gestures often carry the greatest weight.
Cancer has been one of the hardest teachers of my life.
But it has made a few things crystal clear.
The relationships we build matter.
The people we help matter.
The kindness we give matters.
The time we invest in others matters.
And when life gets heavy, those same people show up and remind you that you were never walking alone.
To my fellow cancer warriors:
Whether you're newly diagnosed, currently in treatment, in remission, waiting for test results, or supporting someone you love through this journey...
KEEP FIGHTING.
There is still life to live.
There are still memories to create.
There are still people who love you.
And there are still chapters left to be written.
Through all of this, one message keeps finding its way back to me.
Two simple words from my friend Ismael Otero:
KEEP FIGHTING.
So that's exactly what I intend to do.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, donated, volunteered, taught, performed, DJ'd, bought a ticket, shared a memory, or simply checked in on me.
I see you.
I appreciate you.
And I will never forget it.
🙏💛
— Rodney (Rodchata)
60th Birthday Celebration of Life:
www.rodchata60.com
GoFundMe:
https://gofund.me/45125303c
