This year, my Christmas tree is decorated in pink to symbolize what I’ve gone through since my breast cancer diagnosis. All of the ornaments have meaning and some of the older ornaments have new meaning. Here’s what they mean to me:
Pink ribbons are symbolic of breast cancer and heroism.
Icicles are for the tears shed in sorrow, fear and relief.
Baby ornaments remind me that I have a beautiful daughter to live for.
Angels remind me that God’s angels are by my side at all times.
Glass hearts represent not only my love of life, but the fragility of life.
White lights signify the many prayers that I received that uplifted me and gave me a serene glow.
Lastly, my daughter and I filled some new glass orbs with pink confetti. I’ve dedicated these orbs to every woman who has ever been diagnosed with breast cancer. May God bless and empower us to fight this awful disease with inner confidence and peace. This Christmas, and always, I will pray for our continued good health and survival.
P.S. I want to share a bit of good news. My doctor told me that I’m a good metabolizer of tamoxifen. It’s a blessing to know that the only medication that I’ve been prescribed will indeed be metabolized and be of benefit to me. And, with God’s help, it will keep me cancer free.
Happy New Year.
Tamoxifen is a drug commonly used to treat women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. The drug works by interfering with the hormone estrogen, thereby reducing the chances that breast cancer will return after treatment. The enzyme CYP2D6 helps the body metabolize tamoxifen. This enzyme is controlled by a gene called 2D6 and individuals have different variations of this gene. Some variations allow certain drugs to be metabolized very quickly, while others don’t allow them to be metabolized as well. Still others prevent any metabolizing at all. It’s estimated that about 10 percent of women with breast cancer have a variation that keeps their bodies from properly metabolizing tamoxifen.
There’s a tamoxifen resistance or CYP2D6 test that examines the 2D6 gene to determine if the woman is a good or poor metabolizer of the drug. Poor metabolizers would not benefit from tamoxifen.
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