More surgery or not ?

Options
phoenix9873
phoenix9873 Member Posts: 35
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer
More surgery or not ?
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • phoenix9873
    phoenix9873 Member Posts: 35
    edited September 2007

    I need some advice...

    My chemo doc says I could get my port removed but I feel like this, it's not bothering me, so why have more surgery if I don't have to.  I talked  to my surgeon and he said he thought it was fine, I could still use it for blood draws.

    So my question is this, should I have my port removed or not?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • NoH8
    NoH8 Member Posts: 2,726
    edited September 2007

    Getting the port out is a very simple procedure. Some docs even do it in the office. I wish I had left mine in because my veins are still shot 5 years out of chemo and finding a vein is nearly impossible. It's a lot easier to get a blood test through a port, IMHO.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • MargaretB
    MargaretB Member Posts: 1,305
    edited September 2007

    I was almost afraid to remove mine - guess I felt if I removed it, sure enough I would need it again.  I left my port in for almost a year and was having another procedure when I had it removed.  You have to have it flushed every six weeks so if you don't mind that, I'd say keep the port.  My girlfriend had hers in for five years.

    Margaret

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2007

    I was like Margaret and actually felt superstitious about having my port removed, thinking I'd be jinxing myself back into getting cancer again. I finally decided, a year after finishing chemo, that letting go of it would help me, psychologically, to move on. I was right, but it did feel scary. My oncology nurse told me that she sees alot of patients who keep them for many years. Just keep it flushed and you should be fine.

    ~Marin

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories