Delaware
Breast cancer young survivor wants to help others cope
The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition’s Young Survivors in Action outings often include women of many ages, all diagnosed before the age of 40,
Stephanie Cumella was only 32, with two young children, when she was diagnosed with a deadly form of breast cancer.
The disease threw her world into chaos as she tried to cope with treatment, work, family life and more.
It would also lead her into a career change, working with young breast cancer survivors who, like her, were diagnosed in their 20s or 30s.
“I can’t really speak for everybody but I know for me your kids are in sporting events or they’re in some sort of class play, or they have things that they have to go to,” she said. “It’s very hard to really take care of yourself and make that time because your life really kind of revolves around being a mom, being a wife and being a homemaker.”
Her first interaction with the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition was at the time of her diagnosis, when the nurse navigator put her in touch with the Coalition’s Lois Wilkinson.
Wilkinson talked about her story, which started with a diagnosis at age 47. She left Cumella with the feeling that the Coalition offered a place of community. Even so, it was a few years before she attended a DBCC event.
That came at a Survivor’s Night at the Blue Rocks.
Cumella chose that event because it was a family event and because other events had been during the work day or at times that were hard for her to fit into the demands of her paralegal work, treatment regimen and family schedule.
Seven years later, she’s a Coalition Survivorship Specialist and program manager of its Young Survivors in Action program.
Her work with DBCC started when the company she worked for encouraged their workers to get back to a local charity. She chose to volunteer at the Monster Mile walk in Dover. a breast cancer fundraiser. That led to more volunteering and, finally, an invitation to join the team as a survivorship specialist.
Cumella says her goal is to help young women and men find lasting friendship and bonds that helps them cope with the traumatic experience of cancer.
“You know, a lot of times you feel like you’re alone in it, even if you’ve had a partner that walked right next to you,” she said. “It’s definitely different having been in those shoes.”
She found simply talking with women who had the same experience to be emotional, supportive and ultimately healing.
“It’s just taking that initial step and trusting that we’re very welcoming and making sure that everybody has a good time,” she said.
DBCC’s Young Survivor in Action programs are designed to foster friendships and relationships among those who have experienced the disease.
Diagnoses rising
Women being diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age is a rising national trend. It’s still considered unusual, affecting only about 5% of women under age 40, but the rate of those diagnoses have been rising at 2% a year, according to Breastcancer.org.
The median age at diagnosis is 62, meaning that half of the women are diagnosed before age 62 and half are diagnosed afterward, the website said.
Many of the young women are diagnosed when they are pregnant or around the birth of a child, partly because pregnancy hormones encourage the growth of some cancers.
Cumella said the youngest woman she’s known who was diagnosed with breast cancer was 28.
About 300 people have reached out or participated in Young Survivors programs in the last 18 months, Cumella said.
While Young Survivors focuses on those under the age of 40, many of the regular participants are people who were diagnosed young and have lived to be in their 40s, 50s and 60s.
“You are still a young survivor, you just happen to be over the age of 40,” Cumella said.
Their participation also helps younger women see that there can be a long, fruitful life after treatment, Cumella said.
Stehanie Cumella and her children at one Young Survivors in Action family outing.
She discovered her own cancer after finding a lump in her right breast when she was trying to figure out why it was hurting.
The doctor she went to see wasn’t particularly worried about the lump, mostly because of her age. He didn’t suggest a mammogram but when Cumella asked for one, he readily agreed.
That led to a diagnosis of triple negative cancer, one of the hardest to cure. Cumella later found out she had the BRAC1 gene mutation, a marker that put her at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
Cumella chose to have a bilateral mastectomy, removing both breasts, followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy. Two years later she had surgery to remove her ovaries and ovarian tubes. Finally, she had breast reconstruction called a DIEP flap, using her own body tissue.
She’s been cancer-free for seven years.
Cumella and her husband, Anthony, have been married for 15 years and have a son who’s about to turn 11 and a daughter who is 9.
She says she’s made some wonderful friends through the Young Survivors program and recently had a full-circle moment.
“A survivor asked me to be there for them during their last treatment, be there for them as they rang the bell,” she said. “It was such a magical moment to be there and months afterward, the survivor told me that ‘you continue to provide a listening ear and empathy and you always go above and beyond to make me feel special and accepted.’
“Hearing this was so rewarding and brought me to tears. It is in those moments, spoken or unspoken, that I truly feel as though I am making a difference.”
Young Survivor in Action outings cover a range of topics and interests.
Cumella plans events online and in person. They range from exercise-related program to arts and crafts to meditation. One of her upcoming in-person events is an Aug. 3 full body sound bath.
Each month, the program offers FUNctional Fitness, an exercise class that requires no equipment and is suitable for all fitness levels; Yogalates, a combination of yoga and pilates; and Healing Meditation.
Many program events are exclusively for breast cancer survivors, partly to create opportunities to ask questions about things like fertility, sex, having children and telling children.
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There are also several special events open to survivors and their families such as the upcoming Survivor’s Night at the Blue Rocks on Aug. 29.
Cumella also oversees the Coalition’s healthy cooking program, Yes to Health, which is open to anyone who is interested.
She said she wants people to know that she’s there for anybody diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly young women and men, and wants them to feel comfortable about reaching out.
The best way to contact her is through her email, [email protected], which pops up on her phone, too.
You can follow the group’s activities on Facebook and on Instagram.
Upcoming Young Survivor events
June 27, 6 p.m.: Clay Sea Creatures and Pinch Pots, Middletown
July 3, 9:30 a.m.: Yogalates, DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action Facebook page
July 12, 11:30 a.m.: FUNctional Fitness, DBCC’s Young Survivors in Action Facebook page
July 17, 9:30 a.m.: Healing Meditation, DBCC’s Young Survivor in Action Facebook page
Aug. 3, 1 p.m.: 1.5 hour full body sound bath, Newark Natural Foods Community Room
Aug. 29, 6:35 p.m.: Survivors Night at the Blue Rocks, Wilmington
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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PHILADELPHIA – Law enforcement agencies across the Delaware Valley are boosting security at religious and cultural sites following U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran, even as officials say there is no credible threat to the area.
The Department of Homeland Security also issued an alert after Operation Epic Fury, warning agencies to remain vigilant for suspicious activity despite assessing that a large-scale attack on U.S. soil is unlikely.
Hours after the strikes, protesters gathered in cities nationwide. In Phoenixville, dozens rallied Saturday afternoon, calling the military action “senseless.”
“Stop the war. People are suffering in this country with food prices, rent, healthcare, money for the people’s needs here,” said Curry Malott, a West Chester University associate professor of educational foundations and policy studies.
President Donald Trump has said the joint operation would eliminate Iran’s nuclear and military programs and change the regime. Some demonstrators criticized the president’s decision.
“Trump has broken his campaign promises with no new wars, and here he is going into another,” said Kyle Horstmann of Phoenixville.
Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick said in a statement that Iran poses a grave threat, adding, “Iran and its proxies are responsible for countless deaths of Americans and our partners. That record is long, deliberate, and undeniable-and it cannot be ignored.” He adds sustained military engagement should be done with consent of Congress.
Democratic leaders, including Senator Andy Kim, argued the president failed to seek congressional approval for the strikes.
“I have zero confidence in this president who has so flagrantly violated our constitution,” Kim said. He called for Congress to immediately reconvene to vote on a war powers resolution.
“I hope there can be unanimity that when it comes to strikes of this magnitude, when American service members lives are at risk, what greater responsibility do we have in Congress than to look out for our service members and the national security of our country?” he said.
The Homeland Security alert also warned of potential low-level cyberattacks targeting U.S. networks, adding another layer of concern for authorities monitoring threats at home.
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As the Delaware County Health Department recognized success over a year period, county officials also voiced work needed to be done particularly in light of infant and maternal outcomes.
“Unfortunately, in Delaware County, we do still have some issues with maternal and child health,” county Executive Director Barbara O’Malley said. “Between 2019 and 2023, 1.3% of our births were classified as ‘very low birthweight.’
“That’s actually higher than our neighboring suburban counties, which are all under 1%,” she explained. “And Philadelphia is at 1.6. So, we know we have work to do and that’s what our health department is here to do.”
O’Malley added that 15.6% of Delaware County residents received inadequate prenatal care, which is determined by when someone begins their prenatal care.
In addition, County Deputy Health Director Stephanie Reese said the disparity among communities of color has grown.
“While Pennsylvania’s Black and white infant mortality gap has narrowed in recent years, Delaware County’s gap has widened. Black infant mortality in Delco increased from 2.9 to 3.9 times that of whites,” she said.
That’s a factor driven by low birthweights linked to premature birth and preventable social and environmental factors.
Last week, Delaware County Council approved to advertise a request for proposals for an awareness and education campaign for the county health department’s Centralized Intake System and the Delco Doula Collaborative. This is funded through a U.S. Department of Labor grant.
This action will allow the DelcoDoula.org to go live once completed. This site for the Delco Doula Collaborative is a web-based registry of perinatal doulas offering doula information and matching services in Delaware County.
“We have so many resources available to people but they may just not be aware of how much we can do for people that are around maternal and child health issues,” O’Malley said.
She said the intake system would be a single point of entry for maternal and child health resources, including eligibility-based matching.
“Once we maybe learn about you, we can give you customized services and resources that you would qualify for,” O’Malley added.
The executive director explained why it’s critical to focus on these outcomes.
“We do know that maternal and child health is very important for so many reasons,” O’Malley said. “A healthy infant, a healthy pregnancy obviously gives people a healthy life, a great start in life, has better health outcomes, educational outcomes and better outcomes for the families.”
Doula programs can help, she explained.
“Research shows that doula programs such as the one that is supported by grant funding through the health department (and) through The Foundation for Delaware County … that there are lower rates of pre-term births, lower rates of low birthweight, lower rates of Caesarian section and higher rates of breastfeeding,” O’Malley said.
One way to support this is through increased awareness of these programs and initiatives, something O’Malley said is hoped to improve birth outcomes and advance health equity in Delaware County.
While the awareness campaign is coming, many of these programs already exist.
“People can avail themselves of them right away,” O’Malley said, directing the community to the health department website.
There, moms and moms-to-be can get support through virtual pre- and postnatal partum doula groups, where moms can learn how to care for their baby, free supplies including diapers and baby essentials, immunizations for infants as well as mental health support for new moms.
“It is critical that we get our Delaware County infants and youth off to the right start and taking care of their moms and families is the way to do it and we do have a lot of resources and we want to make sure that people take advantage of them,” O’Malley said.
Other health programs
Among some of the efforts the Delaware County Health Department have done include meeting with residents during February to offer free blood pressure screenings across the county, including Yeadon, Lansdowne, Chester and Springfield.
Through its Delco Revive! program, it also continues to offer free CPR classes with another one being held at the Yeadon Wellness Center at 125 S. Chester Road from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 26.
“According to the American Heart Association, about 70% of cardiac arrests that happen outside the hospital occur in homes,” county Council Chair Richard Womack said. “Please take the opportunity to learn how to save a life by participating in one of these classes.”
The health department also released its 2025 Annual Report that focused on strengthening public health infrastructure, expanding equitable access to services, and deepening community partnerships across the county.
Some of the accomplishments included expanded doula services, maternal wellness programming, and youth health initiatives to support healthy families and improve early-life outcomes; comprehensive Back-to-School events and community-based education efforts, including the Lead Free in 1-2-3 campaign connecting residents to screenings, supplies and preventive services.
Over the last year, the department has also offered continued implementation of Delco Revive! by increasing community training, lifesaving supply distribution, and overdose response capacity while also strengthening data-driven monitoring and outbreak response to guide prevention strategies and protect residents from communicable diseases; and also expanded the public health kiosks.
The department is also responsible for conducting inspections, investigations and regulatory enforcement to safeguard food safety, monitor environmental hazards, respond to complaints, and prevent vector-borne disease.
The annual report stated that 83% of the department’s $11.4 million budget came from federal and state funding and that the remainder for that time period was funded through American Rescue Plan Act revenues.
“As we reflect on 2025, this report represents the dedication of our staff and partners who work every day to protect and promote the health of Delaware County residents,” county Health Director Lora Siegmann Werner said. “We remain committed to building a resilient, equitable public health system for the future.”
The full Delaware County Health Department annual report can be viewed at https://delcopa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/DCHD-2025-Annual-Report-Revised.pdf.
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“Pages of history” features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
March 1, 2006, The News Journal
Under plan, 59% electric rate hike to be phased in
Delmarva Power has proposed phasing in electricity rate increases to reduce the shock of a 59% price hike for residents scheduled to begin May 1.
If the proposal is approved by the state, the typical residential bill would go up slightly less than $18 a month on May 1. Then on Jan. 1, the typical bill would go up again by the same amount. On May 1, 2007, a last increase of $34 would be added, assuming no other change in the market price for electricity. …
Delmarva Power officials unveiled the proposal Tuesday as part of a response to an executive order issued last month by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner. She asked state agencies to study possible responses to the rate hike, including the option of reregulating the industry.
In 1999, state lawmakers removed controls on the price of wholesale electricity, reshaping the power market in the state. As part of the change, electricity rates were lowered by 7.5% until 2003.
Delmarva Power says the coming 59% increase is mainly caused by price hikes in the cost of the fuels that generate electricity, such as natural gas and coal.
Under deregulation, Delmarva must buy about one-third of its total power needs on the wholesale market every year. If the wholesale market is lower next year, customers could save some money. If the wholesale market is up, then rates could go even higher than they are currently expected to go….
Deregulation was expected to reduce electricity prices by bringing competition to the electric market, but only the largest power customers in the state are able to shop for power. Residents do not have a choice about who supplies their electricity.
Some lawmakers are calling for the state to reregulate the industry….
Reregulating part or all of the electricity market is unlikely to have any impact on the 59% rises in bills, experts say, but could prevent dramatic price spikes in the future….
March 3, 1976, The Morning News page
Sussex prison dilemma prompts judicial warning
If the General Assembly doesn’t do something soon about the crumbling Sussex Correctional Institution, he will, a federal judge strongly hinted yesterday.
Judge Murray M. Schwartz said he frankly hopes lawmakers will come up with the extra $1.6 million needed for a thorough overhaul of the Georgetown prison this month.
If they do, he said, it probably will “wash out” the inmates’ suit to close the prison. Schwartz is hearing the suit now, but isn’t expected to make a ruling for several months.
Should he find that the “legislature has abdicated its responsibilities [to the prison],” Schwartz warned, “then that has opened up a hole the federal court will have to fill.”
The state earmarked $2 million from a bond issue for Sussex prison renovation, but the base construction bid opened in January was $2.8 million. With alternate improvements officials want, the cost would rise to $3.4 million.
Acting Correction Commissioner Paul Keve, a defendant in the inmates’ suit, said it “looks very hopeful” that $1.6 million originally appropriated for another prison project will be reallocated to the Sussex work….
Several times yesterday, Schwartz expressed puzzlement over the state’s defense to the suit which seemed to be, “Yes, Sussex is bad, but we’re going to improve it,” the judge remarked.
The improvements are part of the defense, replied Deputy Atty. Gen. John Willard. But he said he would also contend the prison’s deficiencies aren’t an unconstitutional denial of due process or cruel and unusual punishment, as the inmates claim.
The prison’s 45-year-old main building “defeats efforts to improve it in a superficial way,” Keve said, and demands instead a “drastic, complete, comprehensive” renovation.
He said a new kitchen is most urgently needed, but the plans also call for complete replacement of the plumbing, electrical and heating systems, construction of a gymnasium, medical-dental suite and space for classrooms and group discussions.
Prisoners have complained of a lack of rehabilitation programs….
March 6, 1926, The Evening Journal
Woman, baby, dog rescued from burning home
Mary Anderson … and a year-old baby were carried from the burning house at 4 W. 12th St. in Wilmington this morning. …
The fire, which originated in the chimney of the house, caused a spectacular blaze that destroyed the roof and damaged the interior of the dwelling, and drew a large crowd.
Trolley traffic on Market Street was tied up for 20 minutes or more. Long lines of cars from the Boulevard, Washington, Shellpot and Darby lines blocked both tracks for two squares or more, owing to the lines of fire hose that were stretched across Market Street.
The fire was first discovered by Mrs. Anderson who was in the house with the year-old baby of Margaret Thomas who was at work. Smelling smoke, Mrs. Anderson went to the second floor and seeing a flame around the stove pipe hole in the chimney, threw water on it. Thinking she had extinguished the fire, she started downstairs.
In the meantime, the blaze broke out around the edge of the roof and the smoke was seen by John Wright and Stanley Pletuszka, who were in the office of the Pittsburg Independent Oil Company at 12th and Market streets.
Wright ran to the fire alarm box at 13th and King streets and turned in an alarm to which Engine Companies 1,7 and 10 and Truck Company 1 responded.
Pletuszka ran to the house where he was joined by Lloyd Smith of West 13th Street. Finding the door fastened and knowing that Mrs. Anderson and the baby were in the house, they broke down the door.
They met Mrs. Anderson coming downstairs and when an attempt was made to get her to leave, she refused, insisting that the fire was out. The rescuers had to carry the woman from the burning building, then returning they found the baby in the lower part of the house and carried it to the home of a neighbor where the baby and the woman were cared for.
Herbert Johnson, son of Mrs. Anderson of Orange Street, hearing that his mother’s home was on fire, hurried there and with other men saved practically all of the furniture in the house. A small dog, owned by Mrs. Anderson, was rescued by Johnson, but a larger dog defied the efforts of other men to take it from the house. …
The firemen prevented the spread of the fire by deluging the building with water, the chemical streams first used being found insufficient to check the fire. …
The loss is estimated at $800.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
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