Anyone do Herceptin Without a port?

I also did all my treatments without a port. Find a good experienced nurse in the infusion room and request her every time if you can. I pretty much used the same vein all through Herceptin. I let them use it at the end for my muga scan which was a big mistake. I had someone inexperienced and they blew out the vein. So if you find a good vein, don't let them go near it for other tests.

Make sure you're well hydrated before your infusion, and ask them to warm the vein beforehand. Best wishes to you!

I received my Herceptin treatments without a port. There were a few times where we couldn't get a good stick and it took awhile to find a vein, but during these times, I would just remember how much I hated my port and focus on how relieved I was that it was not part of my life. It's completely doable. Another poster suggested staying hydrated - YES, YES, YES!

Something to think about - when I had my surgery, they took the port out first and THEN excised the tumor. Unfortunately, the cancer had spread during neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (or maybe was there the whole time and escaped imaging?) and so my surgeon was forced to conduct an unplanned axillary node dissection. Had I known that I was going to have an axillary node dissection, I would have asked to keep the port in only because once you have that dissection, you can't have any intravenous access to that side. In other words, I could only be "stuck" on my right side, which in my case doesn't have the greatest veins. I'm not trying to scare you, I just think you should chat with your surgeon about the "order" of surgery if that makes sense. Good luck!

I'm doing it without a port, at least so far. I'm on my fourth complete cycle (Taxol, Herceptin, Perjeta one week, Taxol alone the next two). A couple of days when they had trouble getting a vein, but we figured out that those were the days when I'd had the infusion first thing in the morning, and I wasn't hydrated enough. Good luck if you try it!

I've done everything without a port - 6 TCHP and all of my subsequent Herceptin infusions. One vein got discolored after 4 rounds of chemo, but everything else has been fine. None of my doctors or nurses ever even suggested a port. I seem to have plenty of good veins to choose from. And I will also suggest staying well hydrated. My only hard time getting an IV started was when I was dehydrated.

For 2 years now. I hated the port and they can still get veins. Herceptin is easier on your veins.