Marlton’s Roanne Silver Feels Whole After Breast Cancer Surgery

In fall 2017, Roanne Silver of Marlton, NJ, learned there was something suspicious in her mammogram that needed further testing. “When the radiologist told me ‘you have breast cancer,’ I was panicked,” Roanne said. “I NEVER expected to hear those words, and I immediately feared the worst.”

Roanne sought care with Virtua breast surgeon James Crawford, MD. “I was so scared, but Dr. Crawford put me at ease,” she recalled. He explained she had clinical stage-2a breast cancer, which meant it was growing, but contained in the breast and nearby lymph nodes. She needed a total mastectomy – surgery that removes the entire breast.

Roanne and Dr. Crawford also discussed her breast reconstruction options. She recalled, “Dr. Crawford said I could do nothing. I could have a saline or silicone implant. Or, I could choose a procedure where the breast is rebuilt using my own muscle and tissue.” Roanne determined breast reconstruction using her own tissues was the ideal option.

That’s when Roanne met Alexander Au, MD, a Penn Medicine | Virtua Cancer Program microvascular and plastic surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction.

Knowing she didn’t want breast reconstruction with an implant, he described every aspect of DIEP flap breast reconstruction, a procedure that uses tissues from your lower abdomen to rebuild your breast. She recalled, “There was no sugarcoating it—he told me I would have an end-to-end scar across my belly, but that I would wake up with a breast.”

Read more, as Roanne shares her story to empower other women undergoing cancer treatment to understand their options and to choose what’s absolutely best for them.