What You Need To Know


  • The coronavirus pandemic forced Weslinne Adhemar, 30, and Manny Cepedes, 33, to delay their May 2nd wedding.

  • Soon after the city's first confirmed cases of COVID-19, Adhemar received more daunting news. She was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.

  • Despite the growing numbers of cases of COVID-19 at the time, Adhemar immediately started treatment with the Mount Sinai Dubin Breast Center.

  • The pandemic also would not stop Adhemar from marrying the love of her life on May 25. She's now Weslinne Adhemar Cespedes.

Like many couples heading to the alter, Weslinne Adhemar, 30, and Manny Cepedes, 33, were forced to delay their wedding due to COVID-19.

“I think back to October when my husband proposed to me - October 19. And we set the date for May 2,” Adhemar said.

But soon after the pandemic erupted, they faced a much more daunting challenge. In March, Adhemar was diagnosed with stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.

“So that was intense and that happened all around the time that New York City was figuring out its status around COVID-19 and whether they should close or not,” she explained.

“Weslinne was very brave and mature and smart to understand she needed to pursue treatment right away despite COVID,” said Adhemar’s oncologist, Dr. Amy Tiersten of Mount Sinai’s Dubin Breast Center.

With the coronavirus raging, some New Yorkers have been wary of seeking treatment for other medical problems, fearing they will fall ill with Covid-19. But Adhemar quickly began cancer treatment.

She’ll complete 16 rounds of chemotherapy at the Dubin Breast Center before surgery in the fall. With the coronavirus still a threat, and cancer patients often susceptible because of weakened immune systems, Adhemar has to go for treatments alone as a precaution.

“Chemotherapy affects the immune system. While it has not been shown that patients who receive chemotherapy have a high incidence of getting COVID, what has been shown is if you give someone chemotherapy, and they do have COVID, they have a much worse outcome with the COVID,” explained Tiersten.

“It is just a lot for an engaged couple to go through,” said Adhemar.

But neither cancer nor the pandemic could stand in the way of this couple’s love. They rescheduled their wedding close to the original date, celebrating with Adhemar’s 13-year-old daughter.

“We were like this is the only thing we can actually control, let’s just get married,” she said. They held a socially distant wedding on a bridesmaid’s lawn on May 25th. The wedding party had about four days to pull it off.

Now, as Weslinne Adhemar Cespedes, she continues her battle against cancer, relieved she did not delay seeking treatment, and looking forward to building the next chapter of life with her family.  

“I know that what I have is curable and treatable and I want to share memories and moments,” she said.