Benefits of a Port?!?!?

shopper16

What are the advantages of receiving a port? Do most women choose a port?

My mother just received a phone call from the Surgical Scheduling Nurse to schedule the port insert while she goes under for her second surgery in 2 weeks. However, she plans not to start chemo for several weeks after the surgery, as we already have a vacation planned, and strongly doesn't want the port in while on vacation. This vacation is a last minute planned trip for the family to all be together before she starts her treatment...having a constant reminder inserted in her is not ideal. Anyone who can provide guidance in this is much appreciated... this board has already been a huge help to broaden my knowledge...I know this is only the first of many posts to come! Thanks in advance!

cp418

I could not have gone through chemo without a port due to poor veins. It made the process of receiving chemo much easier without the fear and pain of multiple needle sticks. The port is also used for blood drawals which are monitored at each visit.

The port insertion site was a bit sore for a few days but soon resolved for me. It was hardly noticable and looked like a bump under the skin. IMO one of the best medical devices ever invented.

GoodMommy

The insertion of a port is a little more complex than its removal. It is usually done under general anesthetic while you are having the surgery. Chemo can destroy the veins and it is a very good idea to have it done. Mine was a little uncomfortable for a few days and I hated having it in; but it sure beat having the chemo nurse searching for a vein that had collapsed from the previous treatments. The best thing to do is to ask the doctor what he thinks. Definitely get one though.

God bless,

Chris

shopper16

Thank you so much for your opinions. We just found on last Thursday through the Radiation Oncologist that the 2nd surgery was necessary (to get wider margins) and that chemo was most likely a "definite"...not going to lie---knocked us all off of our seats. We go this Thursday to speak again to the Medical Oncologist to officially discuss the chemo plan... just taking one day at a time! Thanks again!!!

aimster1123

Hi Shopper,

The port has been GREAT for me. I was pretty sore for about a week after receiving it, but at this point (about a month after port procedure) I don't even notice it is there at all.

This cancer thing is hideous, I agree. I'm finding that each thing is hard to go through, but afterwards I feel such relief. First chemo treatment was HARD and I ended up in the ER. Losing my hair was HARD, but now I'm bald and I'm OK. I'm still me!! And I'm still pretty, I think. So each thing is a hurdle, but somehow you go through them and look back and say, "That was hard, but I survived." Your mom is lucky to have all of you by her side.

Amy

aimster1123

Forgot to say that personally I would rather get the port thing overwith during another surgery, than have a separate procedure like I had to. And I would rather have it done and all healed before chemo started, than have to have chemo on top of the soreness of the port surgery. Just my 2 cents! Amy

LisaSDCA

I agree with Amy - if she's got to go under again to get clear margins, definitely get the port put in at the same tme. One surgery, one recovery. And that way she'll be good to go upon return from the vacation. She's going to have a sore chest anyway (from the breast surgery) so part of it being the port won't make that much of a difference, IMHO. I love my port. It was pretty durn sore for a while, but it has worked perfectly each and every time I have needed a draw or an infusion. I'd never do chemo without one.
Good luck to your mom!
Lisa

southtx

The port was wonderful for my chemo. Would not have taken the chance of receiving Adriamycin in a perpheral vein. I would defenitly want to have it in a week or so before first chemo infusion....I liked that was used to it by then, and not getting overwhelmed with "new stuff" all at the same time. I had mine put in under a local, but most the time they give a little something to make you care less, unless they can place it when you have a procedure that your asleep for anyway. My radiologist placed mine.
Got it out 5 weeks ago...glad to have it out, but it did serve me well. sincerly, Tracy
Dx 12/15/06, idc 1.5 cm, pr/er+, her2-,clear nodes, left mastectomy with imm. tram flap repair, a/c x 4, now on Tamoxifen. Best of luck!!!

jhmlkmorrow

I've had chemo both way's - 13 years ago via my left arm and last year via a port and I'd pick a port!! I had CAF my first go round and my veins didn't fair well by the end of my 6th treatment. But with the port, I'd dab a bit of numbing cream on before my treatment or blood draw and I had very little trouble or discomfort. I would really recommend having a port to anyone going thru chemo.

I hope your vacation will give you a chance to free your minds and spirts a bit before facing what is ahead. take care, kathleen

Poppy

Aside from making the chemo infusions much easier, it's a lot safer. You do NOT want some of those drugs coming in contact with your skin. I had the port and while I hated it, I loved it. Hugs to Mom,
Erica

shopper16

Thanks everyone!!! Sounds like a port is a must!!! Where are the ports normally inserted? Are they visible?

jasmine

If she will have a few weeks to heal before the vacation she should do fine. The port is completely under the skin so she will still be able to swim or do whatever she likes.

gshoemate

I woke up from my mastectomy with the port in. They told me ahead of time that they were going to put it in but everything went so fast for me I forgot all about it until I woke up to a lump below my collar bone. I'm 4 weeks post surgery today and it is still a bit painful and black and blue but it's doable. We are going on a cruise in 2 weeks. Mine sticks up alot. I asked my surgeon if it was going to settle at all but because I am thin, there is no place for it to settle to. My swim suit won't cover it at all but I just consider it one of my many war scars. The odd thing is that the incision doesn't look like it was stiched. There has been this clear coating over it since surgery, almost like a glue. My sugeon also told me that veins do not handle chemo to well and that is why the port is usually a must. Hey, as long as they don't have to stick my arm with a needle during treatment, i'm all for the port. Have a good vacation.

aimster1123

They usually put the port in the chest area somewhere, typically on the opposite side from the mastectomy side, if that's an option. Mine is just inside my bra strap (right next to it), about 1 1/2 inches below my collar bone. When I wear a tank top that has a wider strap, you can't see it, so it's a good location. It's a good idea to draw on yourself with a pen before the surgery, to show them where your bra strap falls so they don't put it right UNDER there, which would be uncomfortable. As far as it showing, it definitely shows when I'm undressed, but not when I have clothes on. HOpe this helps! Amy

maxgirl

Amy -- I wish I'd seen your post a few months ago before my port was put in, because the surgeon -- a woman1!! -- put the port right under my bra strap line, and it is very uncomfortable.

Also, mine is pretty sore most of the time whereas most women say they don't even notice it after a while. I had planned to keep it in for 2 years, "just in case," but this is so uncomfortable, I might just have it taken out and risk having to have a new one put in.

That being said, I would always go with a port -- it makes the whole process much easier, and my poor veins have enough trouble coping with even the blood tests.

jacqniel

Max,
My first port was so uncomfortable I got it out as soon as my onc said I could. Even then, it took a year for the soreness to go away.
My present port gives me NO problems. It felt better the first week than my other did the whole time I had it in. I think you would be wise to have it removed once you can. Jacque

DebbieK

I just had my port put in on May 29th by my surgeon. It seems to be healing fine which is good since my first chemo tx is Monday. Did anyone else have a lump on your neck from where they tube is connected to the jugular vein? It is quite a bump and shows. The actual port is not a lump at all and won't show once it is healed.

Just wondered. Debbie

trumpkin46

Debbie, my port access (the dome part) was just beside my bra line, the actual vein they went into was under the collar bone, so that insertion point didn't show. My daughter is an peds onc nurse, and they don't do any chemo on kids without a port. Thank heaven she knew about ports. I didn't, and I had to push to get one. It made all the difference.

I would put a little 'freezie cream' (they call it in peds) on the site about 20 minutes prior to the chemo, and feel virtually nothing when they accessed the line. I did have some problems with congestion in the hand on the port side and had to take my wedding ring off while the port was in place. I had it out four weeks post chemo, and was glad to get it removed - one more milestone - but wouldn't have wanted to do the chemo without it....

I watched a woman who had chemo the same days as me weeping with fear because the staff had to dig for veins, and her arm hurt so much during treatment.

A year after the port was taken out, the scar has matured to the point that it is hardly visible...Not that it's a huge big deal with all the other scars I have now.

Alice

BeaBea

I have terrible veins and I vagle (faint) if they have to probe and poke in several places. The port was great! It was used for muga heart scans, CT's, chemo, blood draws, and MRI's. I kept it a couple of months after chemo was finished. I was diagnosed with uterine cancer in April, '07 and all the blood draws were terrible. They just couldn't get it! When in the hospital it seemed they were trying to draw blood every couple of hours. After giving up on veins and milking my finger for blood; they put in a PICC line. That is an option for chemo, too.
Hugs to all, Annie
BC2003
UC2007

fireba

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my port! Lots of people on the boards seem to have their port put in early, but at my hospital, they put it in on the day of your first chemo and leave it accessed for the infusion. It's kind of nice, because then you're all drugged up for the chemo anyway, so you're not as anxious, and there's no needle pinch the first time. I was sore for a while after the surgery, but it really wasn't bad. Now I feel no pain at all from it. And wow, I see folks without and port, and some of them struggle so much to find a vein, and then they have to worry about using different veins for blood draws and chemo drugs, and oh my goodness, I'm glad I have the port.

Mine is a considerable lump about 2 inches under my collarbone. It definitely shows. I also have a small visible scar at my neck, and you can see the port line as it goes over my collarbone. But I wear tank tops and swim suits and sundresses, and no one has EVER asked me about it. Maybe they're scared of it, or maybe they're embarrassed, but I just go about my regular business!

3ofus

Just another "yes" to having the port. Invaluable and worth the very small bump that is barely visible. Your mom should be all healed by time she starts chemo, which is great! You can swim with it, do everything normal really.
MY tip is to use "EMLA" cream about 1hour prior to the needle. Just lather it on thick, put a patch of saran wrap over it and medical tape all around (so air won't get to it) She will not really feel anything with this!
Other tip: have conscious sedation when removing the port (it is relatively quick process, but with this you won't feel the freezing needles, like I did last Thursday when I had my port taken out) Had conscious sedation for insertion and didn't feel a thing, it was great!

All the best,
Ginny

shopper16

Update-

My mom had her port inserted on the 12th when they went in for clearer margins---everything went well. She had discomfort (mostly a burning sensation) for about a week--surgeon said to give it some more time that she should be fine. She goes tomorrow afternoon to meet with the surgeron for a check up. Then Tuesday AM, we are off to our family vacation in FL coming back just 30 hours before she starts her first Chemo treatment on the 5th. It was b/c of the opinions posted on this forum that convinced her to get the port inserted while under for her clearer margin surgery---a decision she is very pleased she made. So thank you all!!!

aimster1123

Yay! So glad to hear we were of help. I think your mom definitely made the right decision. My surgeon waited to do my port until after my lumpectomy, to be certain I would need chemo. If I could have done both at once, though, I definitely would have and skipped yet another procedure, so I'm glad your mom got to do that. She'll feel MUCH better getting chemo with a healed-up port, and I'm sure in a few days she's going to notice it less and less. Have a great vacation!

Amy

klwinsa

I had a port inserted during surger, but it has not been accesed yet. I expect it to be accessed tomorrow morning by my oco, what pain can I expect.

I'm one that has terrible time finding veins on my "good" arm.

Kim

iodine

Most times, if done well, it should be no more than an IV stick. If possible, go early and get the topical cream applied about 40 minutes prior to being stuck. It will make it totally unfelt. They can also use a spray to freeze it and you won't feel it either.

klwinsa

Well, that was much easier than the arms. The port is the way to go.

Kim

slanderson

My onc told me that patients who receive their chemo via a port do better. I said what does that mean? He said they tend to have better outcome---longer survival. Perhaps because when the drugs go through the heart they go everywhere. I don't know.

Shannon

pnut2

i had my port inserted the day before my first chemo. i love it!!! my oncologist gave me a perscription for lidocaine cream. i usually put the cream on two hours before my treatment, and cover it with a tegaderm patch. i have dense breast so mine is hard to find at times. but my phlebotomist is excellent at finding it.

mcbeck

I always seem to be the oddball (and the long-winded one).

I’m not sure why, but a port was never even discussed with me. I didn’t even know about it until I came to these boards and read about it! Quite a few women complained about it, so, at the time, I thought I was lucky.

The BC Surgeon didn’t think I would need chemo, so maybe that’s why it wasn’t done during the lumpectomy.

But, the Onc said I needed “chemo light” – CMF, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off for six sessions. Again, a port was never discussed.

Maybe this was because the “C” Cytoxin was taken orally instead of intravenously, so only the Methotrexate and 5FU were administered through an IV.

Shortly after finishing radiation, I was hospitalized for two weeks with a serious breast infection. They pumped Vancomyacin and one other antibiotic (with periodic morphine injections) into my right hand and took blood every other day from my arm. The veins would become infiltrated in 2-3 days, so the had to keep moving the needle, and trying to find a new site was more and more difficult as the time passed. Toward the end of my stay, I offered my foot up to a lab tech to take blood from, when, after four tries; she couldn’t get a vein in my arm!

Last time I went for a colonoscopy, they couldn’t get a vein at all in my right arm and said they were going to use my left one. I freaked out!!!! Even after 3 different doctors told me it was ok since it would only be in for a few minutes I was panicked. It turned out fine, but WOW, what an experience!

Needless to say, my right arm has been pretty abused, and is still used a minimum of every three months by the Onc. (She finds the vein every time, the first time – I think I love her!)

Funny thing is, I don’t remember it being that painful – instead, I felt sorry for those who couldn’t find the vein and kept apologizing for sticking me over and over again. I even made jokes about it while comforting them that it was ok.

Prior to all this I used to be petrified of needles. Now, I WANT to give blood and they won’t take it until I’m released by the Oncologist.

Funny how much things change with our experiences.

Best of luck to you in your choice, I’m sure whatever you decide is the right thing for you.

Hugs,

Jackie

TruDYe69

I still have my port after 8 years. I am glad I had it since I still have problems with my blood count. It keeps your arms from being so scarred and really is a lot less painful. But then to each is different. You can always get one later if you decide to

Ms_Latte

Trudy,

I hope they told you that it needs flushing every 4 weeks....they didn't tell me!!