Breast cancer treatment

She fought cancer to a standstill, using surgery to remove a tumor in her breast and drastic nutrition and lifestyle changes to keep it from returning.

Romani, 42, a civilian contractor at Tinker Air Force Base, was injured in an intestinal operation in January 2006. After four months of recovering, she decided it was time to do a breast examination. She immediately knew what to make of the lump she found.

“Out of the frying pan, into the fire,” she said of going from one health crisis to another.

Fast forward two years: Romani is cancer free. She has had both breasts removed and reconstructed, and has had both ovaries taken out. An orthodox Jew, she adheres to a kosher, organic, sugar-free diet: If it’s not natural, she won’t put it in her body.

Her immune system must be in top shape to keep her from every having to hear the terrifying “c-word” again.

A military commander once told her doing her best isn’t enough; she must do what’s necessary. The same holds true for her fight against cancer.

Romani wants women to know mammograms, while useful, aren’t completely reliable. She wants them to have the confidence to take charge of their medical care. Most importantly, she wants them to perform monthly breast exams.

When her doctors at OU Medical Center took her into a conference room to discuss her treatment options, Romani knew what she had to do.

“I knew five minutes after I was told how I was going to handle it,” she said. “This is never going to happen to me again.”

She didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

Although Romani has a take-charge personality, seven years in the Air Force doubtless helped hone her resolve. She needed it that day two years ago, when she told her doctors she wanted both breasts removed.

She knows women who defer to their doctors’ wishes without question. She wasn’t going to be one of them.

Her tumor was small — six millimeters. It hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes. She could have had the lump removed but wasn’t comfortable with the idea that some stray cells could remain.

“I didn’t want to ever hear those words again. ... I just wanted it out of my body,” she said.

In the two months between her diagnosis and mast, Romani exhaustively researched cancer and how she could take control of her recovery.

“Surgery is only one aspect of how I chose to treat it,” she said.

Her tumor was hormone receptive — meaning it thrived in the presence of estrogen.

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