Port or Not to Port

Was so thankful I had the port for chemo. Can't use right arm because of high lymphedema risk so my left arm gets pretty beat up with all the blood draws and most times it takes multiple times before they can find the vein. My first chemo treatment I was very impressed with the function of the port. When I get it flushed now, the oncology nurse will do my bloodwork from it. I wish it would get used more but I find unless I see an oncology nurse, the nurses are afraid of it which now makes me leary of anyone other than an oncology nurse touching it.

Yes it’s going into your veins. Some chemos are pretty caustic,can reallly do a number on you if it leaks where it shouldn’t. One stick it’s in, infusion starts.

Nobody but a chemo nurse touches my port. It’s been in over 5 years, and I don’t want it removed.

Once chemo is finished, is there an increased risk of infection with keeping the port? Is there an increased risk of clot formation? How often must it be flushed following chemo?

Thanking you in advance.

I did 8 rounds of chemo without a port and have no regrets. I was scheduled to have one put in. I went to the hospital, got into my gown and then was so put off by the blazing incompetency of the nurses and indifference of the surgeon that I walked out. My MO wasn't fussed about my decision. The chemo nurses were pretty good at the IVs and I am phobic about needles.

Actually, the port leads to a catheter that is threaded into one of your veins and ends at the vena cava, which is a large blood vessel that goes directly to the heart. When the chemo gets to the end of the catheter it mixes with the large amount of blood passing through the vena cava, which dilutes it and makes it less damaging.

I’ve never used any cream on my skin, and for me i don’t need it. Accessing the port hurts far less than those little finger pokes. The first time around i had my port removed as soon as i finished chemo; this time i’ve had it almost 2 years. I have it flushed every four weeks and for the most part I forget it’s even there. It made chemo so much easier, I’m so glad I’ve had them.

I had a port right away and was thankful for it.

My sister went through 3 rounds of AC without it, but by the 4th AC and then 12 weeks of Taxol,

she had one put in. Was much easier.

I believe they are worth it!

I did my 4 TC chemos without a port. I think it would depend on how many treatments you have, and what chemo you're getting. If you are scheduled for AC, I think you have to have a port.

Hi Mamatwoboys,

I was in a clinical trial and had TDM1 (Emtanzine and Herceptin) for 17 cycles - once every 3 weeks for a year. I did this without a port. I was 43 at the time. I told my oncologist I wanted to try the infusions without a port and since there were 3 weeks between cycles, I felt I could manage. I took arnica montana 30c pills day of and after infusion. It helps healing and I think it helped my veins heal faster. I only used my right arm.

Good luck with your decision. You need to make the choice that you are most comfortable with.

Best,

Reikion

I asked to have one put in before it was even mentioned. Reasons:

1) If chemo does damage one of the veins that's easy to get an IV into, it's generally done and gone forever as a place from which to draw blood or put in an IV. Damaged veins often get scarred down and don't carry blood anymore. People who have chronic medical problems can end up being very "hard sticks" after losing multiple veins (other things can ruin veins for further use, not just chemo).

2) If you happen to get severely ill (as both my mother and I did), the port is very reliable access into your blood vessels. Visible veins collapse during dehydration, making it harder to get an IV into someone just when they may need it most.

But, as others have mentioned, lots of people do get through chemo without ports.

AC x 4 with port in 2006, then carboplatin and taxotere x 4 without port in 2017.

I had to have an extra surgery to remove the port in 2006. I have great veins so no problems with IV's this time. I would probably choose to go without a port if (heaven forbid) the need arises in the future.

They were in a hurry to get me started on chemo, so we decided to start without a port and then see how it went, could always get one later and we were using my right arm (knew those lymph nodes were positive already and probably coming out, so decided to "use it up" for chemo.) My MO doesn't feel everyone needs a port. I got through 4 rounds before it started to become difficult. My veins became harder to find. I made it through the last four rounds (I had 8 total) but those were more stressful each time with difficulty finding a vein, getting stuck multiple times, coming home from chemo with hematomas, as if there isn't enough going on. I ended up getting a port after chemo when I had surgery in order to finish herceptin. As the infusion nurse said "the vein finding has become the most stressful part of your treatment, and it shouldn't be." I loved my port once I got it, so much easier. The stress of will they find a vein went away. Now that I don't have my port, finding a vein is stressful again.

The flip side is I had a power port which is large and had to change everything I wore so it wouldn't show, I was constantly aware of it. I felt like it was tender most of the time it was in. Even the part where it went into my vein was a little visible in my neck when the port itself was covered.

If it were me, I would have someone give me a realistic opinion on how hard your veins are to find. The lead person in the lab you go to fro blood draws, etc. When it came time to have my port out, they had so much trouble finding a vein to put me under for that procedure that I did it under local rather than general anesthesia (which was no big deal.) But thats how hard my veins became to find by the end.

I was really nervous about getting a port. I spoke with a number of people who either are currently going through chemo or had previously went through chemo. They were unanimous with their opinion to get one. One friend had gone through chemo 17 years ago and did not have the option of a port. She said that if she had been given the opportunity at any point she would have taken it. To this day she has difficulty with blood draws because of the damage to her veins from chemo.

Another friend was not given the option of a port because he was only supposed to have 4 rounds of chemo. After his cancer spread he needed a more aggressive treatment and they had to install a port because his arms were 'trashed' (his words, not mine). He wishes he had one from day one.

I got mine almost 2 weeks ago. I am still getting used to it. It's a power port so it should be pretty useful for all of the future scanning and treatments that I'll be going through. The first usage was easy enough and I'm very happy not to have any more IVs in my hands or bruises on my arms. I never thought I had hard to find veins until recently but if the past year is any indicator of my future with blood draws, then the port was a good move.

You have to consider your pros and cons and think about what will make your quality of life better. No one can answer it for you so good luck with your decision! You'll find the right path

I have never seen this thread before. I was doing something else and it popped into the middle of it.

My story. One singular chemo of 2009 almost killed me.

First reason is I have a metabolism genetic thing of the CYP450 liver metabolism that is different. Slow on 3A4, and fast on 3A5. That particular genetic difference was unknown at the time, it didn't become known until 2011 What was known to me over life is all drugs should be at a lower dose. 50% of all drugs go through those paths. My learning through life was discounted by the docs.

Second, Doc Hospitalist screwed up at admission for 104.8 temp, neut's of 0.5 and WBC of 1.5. He ordered an IV fluid that put me into renal failure. The silver lining is that that scenario may be why I never met's. Today it's called Dose Dense( without the wrong IV fluid and renal failure)i.e. give a higher dose. For me the dose was high per metabolism.

Port or Not to Port. To add to the above. I requested a port and was denied by the MO. I wasn't happy b/c I described my veins as not accessible i.e crappy. I had enough history to know that. He won. I was vulnerable and didn't fight to the final blow with him.

ONLY CHEMO: three chemo nurses and 5 sticks. The last stick was below a higher stick. Some chemo extravasated. The area didn't die, but was dark for a year. Now in 2017 the area is increasingly dark over the years. It has a cast. Not noticeable to others, but I'm an old nurse, our assessments are different than average.

2016 I had my first IV inserted with a vein finder. It was so cool. Literally you can see under the skin, all the blood vessels.

In the section where the chemo extravasated, the veins and capillaries were like a shriveled forest. That whole area is not useful. How much damage is done with each chemo may not be known for along time after the adjuvant chemo. MY recommendation is PORT