Herceptin / Port Question

Hi there!

They will start your Herceptin with you Taxol or Taxotere drug. The first infusion takes a bit longer..about 90 min. The rest are about 1/2 an hour. Once you have finished the T drug you then will have Herceptin every 3 weeks for 1 year. This infusion is 1/2 an hour. It's really fast!

I finished my Herceptin this past November and had my port out 1 week later. I am glad I had my port. You can still swin and do whatever you want. But you have to wait for the port incision to heal first before swimming. Ask your surgeon how long they recommend . Good luck!!!

I think Lexis covered all the bases. I am finishing up chemo and then will do herceptin every three weeks until Jan. 2010. I had my port put in during the bilateral mx surgery. Since I have not begun expander fills yet, I am thinking of getting my port taken out during my exhange surgery which will probably be in early Oct. Then I would have no scar at all and only 3 Herceptins through my arm veins.

Best of luck to you in your journey.

Ellen

Hi Min - Just a quick "ditto" to the info above - I got my port before 6 treatments of Taxol/Carboplatin/Herceptin, and have used it since then to get Herceptin every 3 weeks. I've also used it for scans and a colonoscopy . It's sure better than getting poked every time, especially since I have "no veins." I've been swimming in the ocean, in hot tubs, etc. etc. etc. It's been a blessing, but now that I'm done with Herceptin, I can't wait to get it out!

Best wishes to you!

Hi.  I definitely recommend getting a port.  It has made one thing in all of this easier.  When you guys are getting just the herceptin part the two weeks in between are there any side effects?

I too was against the port since I have amazing veins. Guess what?, a nurse drew my blood for pre-surgery screening and jabbed me a little too hard. It was bruised and sore for 7 days.

That alone convinced me that even though I have amazing veins, I would rather not be a pin cushion during this time.

My port surgery was a breeze. Other than minor soreness, I am able to pick up my children like before. Of course, I keep them away from the port side.

I was more terrified about getting the port than anything else they told me when I was diagnosed. Crazy, but true! But as I learned more, and met several wonderful women who showed me theirs and let me touch them, I got better about it.

I will say that it was somewhat painful for a few days after they installed it. More than I thought it would be, and I wish I had known that.  I remember saying that I could not imagine ever being able to forget it was in there, but several days after I said it, hours were going by where I forgot about it entirely. 

I have lost a little weight since the dx and it does stick out somewhat. Someone told me to ask the surgeon to place it a little lower so it wouldn't interfere with my clothes as much, and I did ask her. I don't know if it is placed differently than anybody else's, but it hasn't interfered with any of my clothes yet. In fact I put on a tank to to exercise in the other day and wondered if it would show,  and it didn't at all.  Some bra straps press against it, but it is more noticeable rather than painful.

I just had my first tx and they used the port. I was so excited - all that fear and pain and concern was about to pay off. AND IT DID. It was quick, easy, totally painless and no tricky trying to hit the vein thing. I am having Herceptin for a year, so I needed the port and now I am SO GLAD I have it. (And I can't believe I am even typing these words!)

But don't get me wrong, I will CELEBRATE when they take it out, for sure! 

I am on Herceptin every 3 weeks and will continue to get it as long as it's still working.  It takes about 2 hours for my infusion, I also get zometa via the port and they used it for my mastectomy, much better than an IV in the hand!  No restrictions once healed.