Chemo without a port

apfuentes

I will be starting 4 cycles of TC on the 16th.  Since it is only 4 times, my onc said I will not need a port.  What has been other people's experience on having chemo infused without a port?  Since I had lymph nodes removed, all bloodwork prior to chemo as well as chemo itself will all be done on the left side.  I worry about my poor little veins on my left arm...will they survive? 

msbusdriver

Hi there!  I am also taking 4 cycles of TC with no port.  I have pretty good veins so my Dr. didn't expect any problems.  I had my first cycle this week.  I drank lots of fluids the day before and the morning of treatment so they would have full veins to work with.  I had no problems.  It helps if your arm is warm when they go to put your IV in, too.   They told me if the fluid going in got uncomfortable, they could slow the drip down, but it was ok.  Good luck to you.  You'll do fine.  Hang in there!

apfuentes

Thanks so much!  I think I saw you on the Dec 2008 discussion as well.  I'll be joining on 12/16 with 4 rounds of TC, sigh.

monee

I too am having 4x tc.  Just did my second Dec 3rd.  I had nodes removed from both arms.  My BS was not worried about LE, neither is my onc. I think you will be fine. Hate needles, but it takes less than a minute to get in. Not too bad.Best of luck.

plakatakr

I just finished my 4 rounds of TC today. No port, no problem. I will continue with Herceptin every3 for a yr and they are telling me my veins are good to go, I am a little nervous about that!

lisettemac

I had 4 cycles of AC and 4 cycles of T, followed by a year of Herceptin without a port.  Looking back on it, it might not have been the best decision, but it can be done.  It's probably more the Herceptin that is a problem due to the length of treatment.  The chemo definitely did a number on the veins in my elbow ... but then I just moved on to my hand/wrist.

I agree with the suggestion to drink lots of water before you go and NO caffeine.  If they still have trouble finding a vein, ask if you can run your hand/arm under the hot water in the sink -- that always works for me.  Good luck!

ravdeb

I didn't have a port. Where I live they don't put the port in too readily because of chance of infection. I did 3 AC and 12 Taxol. My veins are a wreck. Theyweren't so great to begin with. Now I have problems getting blood taken. But..I got really sick on chemo and had an IV stuck in every vein imaginable for over a month for antibiotics..Could be that...

 I drank a lot of water before treatments and used an electric towel warmer around my arm beforehand. I also needed to ask for nurses who were experienced.

lisasayers

I had my first treatment today (4 cycles of TC, 3 weeks apart) and I didn't have a port.  No problem using a vein. 

Lucy47

I also had 4 TC with no port.....and I don't have very large veins. But I did ok. I had my last chemo treatment in April and my veins still look ok.

All the best apfuentes 

Laurita60091

For 4 tx you will probably be ok.  I had 6 FEC without a port and my veins did get fried - they were sore and tight and hard for months but now they have mostly recovered (last chemo in March 08) and I don't notice it.  I think it was the E - Epirubicin that caused this anyway, and since you are not having E or A it probably will be fine.  You can also get them to give the treatments in different veins so you are not always infusing in the same vein.

Good luck!

milconmom

If you can't get a port what about a picc line?  I can only use one arm also and found that after having to be poked so often we were running out of good veins.  If you have to do alot of treatments this could happen to you also.  Just a thought.

Stephanie

angie27

I also only had one arm to work with, and I did 4 rounds of AC, followed by 12 rounds of Taxol/herceptin, and I am now doing one year of Herceptin, with no port.

otter

Hey, Angie!  Sounds like you're doing okay!

apfuentes, what everyone else has said is true.  My experience was like theirs:  I had 4 rounds of Taxotere & Cytoxan without a port, and all the infusions and pre-chemo blood draws (and the BP measurements) were done in my right arm or hand.

My onco, her nurse, and the chemo nurses, all checked out the veins on my right side and declared there was no reason to put in a port.  At my cancer center, the onco's don't like to use ports unless absolutely necessary.  They don't like the added risk of infection and clots.  The chemo nurses confirmed that it's an institution-specific thing--at some hospitals, everybody gets ports, but at this one, very few people got them.

I had no trouble at all with my veins.  Well, okay, I did get some redness in the skin over the vein they used, a few days after my last tx.  It wasn't in the vein, though--the vein was fine; and there was no sign of infection.  Just some skin irritation, which Taxotere likes to do anyway.

I was sooooo worried about all the i.v. sticks and catheters needing to be done in my one arm, often several times in the same day.  That was one part of chemo that really scared me.  Turned out to be no big deal (for me, anyway).  The chemo nurses at my center were very, very good.

otter 

Vinogal

I too have ony one arm to work with......I have completed DD AC X4.......followed by 4 Taxols.......without  port.......I am currently taking Herceptin every 3 weeks......I've had no real problems......once they had to stick me twice cause nurse missed.....and that was it.......you should definately be fine for 4 treatment.....especially since there's no adriamycin involved......they say that's the worse one for you veins.

Cheers

Jax

guitarGrl

Me too - 4xTC - no port. Not only that I don't have great veins on my right side. They did have to use the back of my hand twice, but when they do that, they use a very tiny needle.

I haven't read anything good about ports. 

Roya

One of my friends had chemo without a port and it fried her vein.  Now, after 3 years, that vein still  feels like a hard rope underneath her skin.  She ended up with a port.  She told me that the Adriamycin is the chemo drug that sclerosed her vein.   A lot depends on the meds that you are to receive.

A port is good if you are getting several doses of chemo and also it is good because your labs can also be drawn from it.  It is placed under the skin so that it is less prone to infection than the Hickman Cath.

I copied and pasted 7 reasons that a port might be advantageous from another Blog. 

-------------------------------------------------

Here is a "top seven" list of reasons you may want to consider getting a catheter or a port:

1. You are extremely anxious about having needles inserted.
2. Your veins are difficult to access or become inaccessible.
3. You are undergoing continuous infusion chemotherapy (over an hour).
4. You anticipate many months of chemotherapy treatments.
5. You are receiving intravenous chemotherapy that requires multiple needle sticks.
6. Your treatment requires frequent drawing of blood samples.
7. Your treatment strategy involves chemotherapy agents that may cause "vein pain" when administered through the arm.

----------------------------------------------------

Hope this helps

Fllorik

I agree with Roya. I have a power port and love it. But it is an individual choice.

ptjen

I actually asked for a port at the recommendation of nurses at my local hospital who had to draw blood from me several times - I've always had difficult veins to draw blood from and now the best arm is the one I can't (won't) use. My onco also said that they don't like to put in a port unless absolutely necessary b/c of the risk of infection and clotting (and I have clotting problems). But experience with blood draws and IV's really had me concerned. One of the chemo tips I read on this discussion board suggested starting low on the arm, keeping your hands warm and keeping your water bottle in the hand opposite the one you're using for the IV (since it will help keep your hand cold). So I showed up for my Tx all set to start rubbing my hands together to keep them warm and diligently using my right hand to hold my water. My chemo nurse (who I love!), looked at my hand and lower arm, picked out a vein, brought me to a sink and had me run warm water over my arm for a couple minutes. The vein really popped, she wrapped my arm in a towel, sat me down and with one try and absolutely no discomfort, she had the IV in and then drew my blood. It was absolutely the easiest blood draw I have ever had - and the first IV I've had that didn't hurt after it was in. I am really glad now that I didn't get a port!

Suesfineart

I have a port that is the most problematic thing about chemo.....it is apparently on a nerve. I have pain getting into and out of bed, can't dress without significant pain. Reaching across my chest is out of e question. They have suggested that I have it taken out but I'm afraid of damage to my veins. I read on here that it is possible for me to survive my next two chemo without the port. Not sur to do

Denise-G

Suesfineart - I had a port that caused ALOT of pain. It eventually subsided after about Chemo #7 out of 16. I had a port from the beginning.

My sister, who also had chemo for BC, started without a port, but after about 3 AC chemo, her veins started to go so MO had port put in. She had no pain or trouble whatsoever with her port.

So sorry about your pain. My port pain was worse than my mastectomy pain.

Maggieroe1

I chose to have a port put in because I knew I would be getting infusions of Taxol and then Hercepti for a year. It has worked well for me. I dollop a liberal dose of Lidocaine cream on the port site an hour before each treatment and feel virtually nothing. I have had no problems with the port getting blocked and other than a bit of tingling once in a while, I hardly know it it there.