Okay, I've been waiting and waiting. I found out last fall that there's a test to see if my body is truly metabolizing Tamoxifen, estrogen inhibitor drug. The test is fairly new. It was FDA approved in the fall of 2006. Apparently 7 to 10% of women that are ER positive are taking Tamoxifen and are not truly getting the true benefits of it. Our unique genetic makeup that causes our bodies to not properly metabolize it, and therefore we may have a higher risk of recurrence because we are "poor metabolizers". It seems as if certain drugs, Effexor, etc and cause us to metabolize it poorly too. Tamoxifen is activated by the CYP2D6. I spoke briefly to my nurse yesterday and they said everything came back fine. I was sent one sheet of my test today but it doesn't seem to have a clear answer. Granted I'm not a doctor and all the medical jargon can get overwhelming but it didn't seem to conclusive. (Not that that would surprise me since my genetic testing wasn't clear cut either.) It stated that I had one "non-functional" allele. Hmmm...that doesn't sound good. It goes on to talk about an intermediate metabolizer which is okay.
I guess my best bet is to call the testing center and pick their brain. I don't see my oncologist until mid-April so that's way too far off. The test is fairly new so my oncology nurse wasn't too sure how to read it.
I have heard that this test is 100% accurate, especially if you're on other drugs, etc. I still feel knowledge is power. I may have to take this drug for another 3 years but at least I will know whether it is working or not. I have most of the side effects so that typically mean its working.
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