Chest Port and Exercise Concerns

John23

grumpyj420 said:

john

i'm sorry, yeah that was a little rude. he did provide some valuable information, i was just taken aback by his wording. he did provide some good information, it just sounded like he was fed up with these old threads and i was intruding someplace i didn't belong. again, thanks for your help john, i apologize for my rudeness. it won't happen again.

Havin’ a fit….

Havin’ a fit….

We all have some pretty bad moods, and a lot of us end up venting here. Most of us know what it’s all about, so don’t let it worry you.

Being diagnosed with a terminal disease brings out a lot of feelings; some good, some not so good. At home or with people that have never had to personally go through what we’re having to go through, we’re misunderstood…. Here? Not so much of a problem.

As far as posting to threads? I try to look at the date of the posts before posting, but there are times that the topic is so interesting that I forget to just avoid the thing. Most all forum software has a convenient method for the administrator to “lock down” a thread; you can read it, but you can’t post to it. There is a setting in almost all forum/BBS software to automatically “archive” threads of a specific date, and “lock down” the archived threads. I’ve brought the topic up many times  before, but the tech team refuses to make any changes.

There’s nothing more frustrating on any forum, than asking someone a question and not getting answer. It’s no different here. But here, where we suffer a terminal disease, we may not get an answer because the individual has died. It brings a bit of sadness to see it happening, but it does…. Over and over and over. If you stick around long enough, you begin to “know people”; you begin to know what it’s like to actually feel what they’re feeling… It becomes personal and you feel like the person is part of your own life.

Watching a “friend” lose their battle brings pain, regardless if it’s someone we know in flesh and blood, or here in this tiny bit of cyberspace. We cry inside and sometimes outside, and sometimes we can’t find words to express just how hard it’s hit us. People that never had to face mortality, who have never been diagnosed with a terminal disease, lack the understanding. Many individuals can’t understand how we can suffer the loss of someone we’ve never met; someone we don’t even know the real name of.. But we suffer regardless, and as much as if it were a family member.

That’s what this forum is all about. We’re all “real people”. And we’re a lot closer to one another than some of us realize.

Welcome to the board. I truly wish you never had to find it, but welcome!!

Be well,

John


 

 

grumpyj420

John23 said:

Seat belts

Seat belts

They are to be worn snug to the body. The fabric is designed to stretch upon impact, and if the belt is not snug against the body it defeats the engineering of the belt.

Think of a simple bakery box string…. You can pull slowly like all hell and it won’t break, but if you “snap” it, it breaks easily. That’s how a seat belt works. When it’s snug and you’re in an accident, the belt holds you in place and stretches to accommodate the “G” force involved. Any gap between your body and belt will cause it to have that “snap” that will break the belt, the belt fasteners, belt attachments, or your bones and organs.

In a major head-on collision my wife was a passenger in, her brother (the driver) was thrown from the vehicle, flying like a rag doll almost 50’ from the impact. She remained in the seat, suffering a broken pelvis, hip, and forearm (along with multiple internal injuries and trauma), all seat belt related. Her brother always wore the belt lax, being able to fit his fist between body and belt. My wife wore it more snug, but loose enough to fit her hand between body and belt. Both sustained severe belt injuries from not properly wearing the belt. Wearing the belt likely saved her life, but wearing it improperly is what caused the multiple and severe injuries.

I have an Ileostomy (and now nephrostomy tubes) and a PICC line. Wearing a seatbelt would cause more injury in a minor accident than worthwhile wearing it. If it’s worn lose enough to not cause injury during normal wear, it would be useless in a major accident, and cause more injury than if not worn at all.

Please remember to wear it snug against the body, and what is between the belt and your body can become a weapon to you, both directly and indirectly by defeating the engineering of the belt.

Stay alive while attempting to otherwise stay alive…

John

(GAWD, This is an OLD thread! Where have all those people gone?)

(I hate posting to old threads and wish to all hell that the IT team would lock down the archived data.)

 

chest port and exercise concerns

thanks john, again i apologize.

Nana51

New port

Hi everyone - newbie here and I have been reading the thread on everyone's port experience.  I just had a power port put in four days ago.  I was not expecting the pain, not just at the incision site but my neck and down my arm feels like a horrible pulled muscle.  The surgeon couldn't use the vein in my neck and had to use one under my collar bone.  The incision hits right where my bra starts and runs right to my bra strap.  The first day I wore a bra when I would move the material would rub against the incision.  Being a teacher I move quite a bit, thus it didn't take long to determine I had to do something.  My solution was gauze - an inch of gauze pads placed in my bra just below the incision and another under the shoulder strap kept the material off the incision.  I dont care that people notice the bump of the gauze as it keeps me from extra pain.  I am just ready to have it healed so I can hold my granddaughter again and not worry if I stretch or bump the port.  Wednesday will be the first access for the port with my infusion.  Little uneasy of the unknown.  Suggestions on what to wear would be helpful as I will be going directly from school so I'll need to keep the incision covered as it isn't healed.  

Thanks for listening to my new experience and for sharing yours.  It helps to read that the pain and discomfort is normal.  I've been sleeping in the recliner as our bed is high and my spouse doesn't want me to try and get into bed since it isn't one we can just sit down on but literally have to crawl up into.  

myAZmountain

Port attire

Hello nana--I have had 2 ports in 3 months and both have gotten infected so hope yours turns out better! I usually wore a deep v neck loose shirt so they could access it in front of the rest of the chemo gang. I also wore a stretchy sports bra that was easy to pull to one side. I always covere port with a gauze pad as well.  Good luck with your first chemo!!

abita

myAZmountain said:

Port attire

Hello nana--I have had 2 ports in 3 months and both have gotten infected so hope yours turns out better! I usually wore a deep v neck loose shirt so they could access it in front of the rest of the chemo gang. I also wore a stretchy sports bra that was easy to pull to one side. I always covere port with a gauze pad as well.  Good luck with your first chemo!!

I wore, will wear since

I wore, will wear since starting again, either button down or loose workout top. 

Tunadog

I don’t wear a bra ...

But my advice is to have them numb it up with a Topical Spray.

It really helped me.

Good Luck on your first infusion 

lizard44

Hi, Nana51

Good luck with your first infusion.  I wear a  shirt that buttons up the front on infusion days.

Grace/lizard44

Trubrit

Nana51 said:

New port

Hi everyone - newbie here and I have been reading the thread on everyone's port experience.  I just had a power port put in four days ago.  I was not expecting the pain, not just at the incision site but my neck and down my arm feels like a horrible pulled muscle.  The surgeon couldn't use the vein in my neck and had to use one under my collar bone.  The incision hits right where my bra starts and runs right to my bra strap.  The first day I wore a bra when I would move the material would rub against the incision.  Being a teacher I move quite a bit, thus it didn't take long to determine I had to do something.  My solution was gauze - an inch of gauze pads placed in my bra just below the incision and another under the shoulder strap kept the material off the incision.  I dont care that people notice the bump of the gauze as it keeps me from extra pain.  I am just ready to have it healed so I can hold my granddaughter again and not worry if I stretch or bump the port.  Wednesday will be the first access for the port with my infusion.  Little uneasy of the unknown.  Suggestions on what to wear would be helpful as I will be going directly from school so I'll need to keep the incision covered as it isn't healed.  

Thanks for listening to my new experience and for sharing yours.  It helps to read that the pain and discomfort is normal.  I've been sleeping in the recliner as our bed is high and my spouse doesn't want me to try and get into bed since it isn't one we can just sit down on but literally have to crawl up into.  

Bra strap

My bra strap went right over the top of my port, as did the seatbelt in the car.  

First off, let me tell you that the pain from the port should go away once it is all settled in. 

My bra was really the only uncomfortable thing about my port. What I did was order fabric breastfeeding pads (to stop leaks) and put that between my bra strap and the port. It worked pretty well for me. 

Of course, when I was around the house, no bra needed, and with winter weather on its way, no need for a bra if you're going out in a coat of something heavy and not taking it off. 

Just ideas. 

Good luck on your first infusion. 

If you would like to post again, here is the link to the forum home page. If you need help posting there, just let one of us know and we can guide you through it. 

https://csn.cancer.org/forum/128

Tru

Minhle

I have had a port implanted under skin at the upper right chest for more than year. Not sure when the oncologist will order to have it removed. I played tennis before the surgery/chemo treatment; I also went to the gym 4,5 days/week. I'm likely done with the chemo and the oncologist has switched the treatment to maintenance phase (take medications by mouth). I really wanted to resume my activities. Do you think if I can play tennis or pickleball and go to the gym (not weigh lifting) with the port on my right chest.

Thanks for your advise.

Regards,

Le