Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
The loss of a spouse is never an easy thing to face. Add to that, the task of caring for three young children and it could challenge the strength of any young man. Since the recent passing of his wife, Rosa, Travis Saddler has found himself faced with such a challenge. Rosa sadly passed away after a courageous battle with breast cancer that had spread throughout her body.
Rosa’s battle with cancer began early in the pregnancy of her third child, when Rosa was 33 years old. It was then that she felt a lump in her breast. She was told at the time it was likely a clogged milk duct and nothing more. Even after the lump began to grow, she was told it was “nothing.” Rosa was persistent in having the lump examined more closely and she was finally able to have repeated ultrasounds performed. Following an abnormal result from the ultra-sound, a mammogram was scheduled.
On Jan. 12, 2024, a day before her 34th birthday, Rosa heard the news that any woman dreads hearing. She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in her left breast. What’s more, the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes under her left arm. Physicians informed her the cancer was a very aggressive form and was hormone driven. What followed was a two-year battle to attempt to gain an upper hand on the cancer in her body.
A regimen of chemo, radiation and surgery left her in a severely weakened state. However, Rosa continued to fight, even refusing to give up her work at Cuccinella’s Brick Oven Pizzeria, where she had worked for several years. “She loved her work at Cuccinella’s,” said Owner Karon Mazzella. “She wanted to continue working until it was just too painful and difficult for her. She loved to cook and she was always making birthday cakes and things like that for the people she loved. She was Italian, and that’s our ‘love language.’”
Eventually, despite the aggressive treatments, the cancer continued to spread, eventually to her bones, leading to a stage four metastatic cancer diagnosis in late September of 2025. Efforts were undertaken to continue to fight the cancer, with some temporary success, but even the treatments themselves began to take a heavy toll on Rosa’s body. In mid-January of this year, her weakened immune system led to a pneumonia diagnosis. While she was being treated for this, her body began to lose the fight. She died on Friday, Jan. 30, at the age of 36. This ordeal has understandably taken a great toll on Rosa’s husband. On top of the emotional strain, the economic cost has been tremendous. A GoFundMe account has been established to help with funeral and lingering medical expenses and can be found at “Honoring a devoted mother: Help her family heal.”