YAY! Port removal.

Quilter_1
Quilter_1 Member Posts: 117 Member
in Uterine/Endometrial Cancer #1

Had my port removed one week ago today.  Everything went well.  I finished treatment in March of 2019.  All is well.  Now, if only this damn virus would go away, I want to travel.

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Comments

  • Molly110
    Molly110 Member Posts: 191 Member
    edited July 2020 #2
    Congratulations!!!
     

    Congratulations!!!

     

  • TeddyandBears_Mom
    TeddyandBears_Mom Member Posts: 1,814 Member
    edited July 2020 #3
    Congrats! I was so happy to

    Congrats! I was so happy to get mine out as well. It bothered me the entire time I had it. The medical team thought it might be hitting a nerve.

    I think we all want to be back to normal! I have a feeling we won't see normal for a long time though..... And, it's going to be a different normal....

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

  • Quilter_1
    Quilter_1 Member Posts: 117 Member
    #4
    TeddyandBears_Mom said:

    Congrats! I was so happy to

    Congrats! I was so happy to get mine out as well. It bothered me the entire time I had it. The medical team thought it might be hitting a nerve.

    I think we all want to be back to normal! I have a feeling we won't see normal for a long time though..... And, it's going to be a different normal....

    Love and Hugs,

    Cindi

    Hi Cindi,  my port never

    Hi Cindi,  my port never really bothered me, getting it flushed was sometimes inconvient. It did it's job, and, I'm really glad that I had it, but it's job is done.  I hope that I never have to have another one put in.  I feel great and have been getting good checkups and scans and am hopeful that this chapter of my life is closed forever.

  • Maxster
    Maxster Member Posts: 102 Member
    edited July 2020 #5
    Quilter_1 said:

    Hi Cindi,  my port never

    Hi Cindi,  my port never really bothered me, getting it flushed was sometimes inconvient. It did it's job, and, I'm really glad that I had it, but it's job is done.  I hope that I never have to have another one put in.  I feel great and have been getting good checkups and scans and am hopeful that this chapter of my life is closed forever.

    Glad to hear the news

    I was happy to see someone report on their port removal.  I hated it and always felt it on me.  Even now after its removal I can feel it and the scar it left.  It was such a reminder of my disease that I could not wait to get it out.  I had it removed just a few months after my last chemo. I know they wanted me to wait a bit but I felt like that meant I was waiting for a recurrence.  So I had it removed.  I hope this is the last of it.  I don't know why it bothered me so much but it did.

     

  • NoTimeForCancer
    NoTimeForCancer Member Posts: 3,515 Member
    edited July 2020 #6
    Great news!  So happy for you

    Great news!  So happy for you!

  • Molly110
    Molly110 Member Posts: 191 Member
    #7
    Maxster said:

    Glad to hear the news

    I was happy to see someone report on their port removal.  I hated it and always felt it on me.  Even now after its removal I can feel it and the scar it left.  It was such a reminder of my disease that I could not wait to get it out.  I had it removed just a few months after my last chemo. I know they wanted me to wait a bit but I felt like that meant I was waiting for a recurrence.  So I had it removed.  I hope this is the last of it.  I don't know why it bothered me so much but it did.

     

    Maxster, yes! That's it

    Maxster, yes! That's it exactly. Leaving it in, for me, feels like waiting for a recurrence.          

  • Forherself
    Forherself Member Posts: 1,018 Member
    edited July 2020 #8
    Congratulations Quilter

    Another milestone reached.   Happy for you.  

  • Armywife
    Armywife Member Posts: 451 Member
    edited July 2020 #9
    Congrats!

    I remember when you had it put in! How time flies, and what a blessing we are all here to celebrate with you.

    I had mine removed in December, doctor's orders.  It never bothered me a bit - never knew it was there, and liked going to see everyone at hem/onc when I got it flushed.  But got a new doc and she said, "out it comes."  The doc who removed it was unfortunately not as skillful as the one who put it in, and I ended up with a massive hematoma. I was the darkest shade of purple you could imagine from my neck down to include my whole breast and over to the middle of my chest.  It took months to go away and I still have a small lump under the incision and a very bumpy scar. I kind of wish I had just kept the port!

  • Quilter_1
    Quilter_1 Member Posts: 117 Member
    edited July 2020 #10
    Thank you all for your

    Thank you all for your wonderful support. No understands these small milestones quite like you do.

  • jan9wils
    jan9wils Member Posts: 209 Member
    edited July 2020 #11
    Hooray!

    Hooray!

  • Yeo
    Yeo Member Posts: 25 Member
    #12
    Congratulations!

    I just finished chemo in the middle of April and plan to have mine removed after my 6 month scan in November.  Very exciting stuff!

  • vrsecond
    vrsecond Member Posts: 9
    edited August 2020 #13
    Port

    I am looking forward to the day my oncologist says I can have the port removed.  It has been in there for a year and I have to get it flushed every 6 weeks and now with COVID19 they do a nasal swab every time I go in and I hate that more thatn everything else.  Does anyone know how they remove the port it is an outpatient surgery are you asleep I cannot recall how it was put in I want it out thanks

  • Molly110
    Molly110 Member Posts: 191 Member
    #14
    vrsecond said:

    Port

    I am looking forward to the day my oncologist says I can have the port removed.  It has been in there for a year and I have to get it flushed every 6 weeks and now with COVID19 they do a nasal swab every time I go in and I hate that more thatn everything else.  Does anyone know how they remove the port it is an outpatient surgery are you asleep I cannot recall how it was put in I want it out thanks

    Port removal varies from

    Port removal varies from medical center to medical center. Some use "twilight sedation" as a matter of course. Some use no sedation and only numb the area. Some decide what to do through a discussion between the doctor and patient. I wish all did the latter. Unfortunately, mine offers only the numbing with no sedation, and I've delayed having my port removed as a result. 

    My advice would be to ask for what you want and advocate for it. There was a recent discussion on the board about ports, and many women reported that their port removal was a snap. If your doctor wants you to keep your port for a while longer, you can ask about having it flushed less often. Due to covid, my cancer center delayed my flush for weeks, which they told me was perfectly safe. I looked it up, and there are good studies that say 3 months is fine. You could ask your doctor about those specific studies and see if you can get your schedule changed. 

  • Tamlen
    Tamlen Member Posts: 343 Member
    #15
    vrsecond said:

    Port

    I am looking forward to the day my oncologist says I can have the port removed.  It has been in there for a year and I have to get it flushed every 6 weeks and now with COVID19 they do a nasal swab every time I go in and I hate that more thatn everything else.  Does anyone know how they remove the port it is an outpatient surgery are you asleep I cannot recall how it was put in I want it out thanks

    Mine was numbing only--and easy peasy

    As Molly10 said, it varies by hospital and doctor. I had my port taken out 18 months after chemo because it hadn't been put in the right place originally and was starting to move down my chest wall. I had numbing only, no other sedation or anxiety drugs, and chatted with the surgeon removing it the whole time he worked. It was easy, no pain, healed quickly, and I was very glad to have it out. I hope yours is this easy whenever the time comes!

  • Maxster
    Maxster Member Posts: 102 Member
    edited August 2020 #16
    Port removal

    I could not stand the port.  It was like I was waiting for recurrence.  Plus it was uncomfortable.  My oncologist did not say when I should have it removed.  I just said I wanted it out and she went along.  It was a simple procedure with local numbing.  I also talked through the whole thing.  I hope yours goes as easily as mine did.

  • Quilter_1
    Quilter_1 Member Posts: 117 Member
    #17
    My port was remover using

    My port was removed using numbing only, was a very easy procedure and took little time.  So nice to have it gone.

  • Molly110
    Molly110 Member Posts: 191 Member
    #18
    Quilter_1 said:

    My port was remover using

    My port was removed using numbing only, was a very easy procedure and took little time.  So nice to have it gone.

    Yay! Congratulations! How

    Yay! Congratulations! How exciting to have your port gone -- another milestone!

     

    You are clearly one of the brave ones in that you were comfortble having someone cut into you while you were wide awake. : ) 

  • vrsecond
    vrsecond Member Posts: 9
    #19
    Molly110 said:

    Port removal varies from

    Port removal varies from medical center to medical center. Some use "twilight sedation" as a matter of course. Some use no sedation and only numb the area. Some decide what to do through a discussion between the doctor and patient. I wish all did the latter. Unfortunately, mine offers only the numbing with no sedation, and I've delayed having my port removed as a result. 

    My advice would be to ask for what you want and advocate for it. There was a recent discussion on the board about ports, and many women reported that their port removal was a snap. If your doctor wants you to keep your port for a while longer, you can ask about having it flushed less often. Due to covid, my cancer center delayed my flush for weeks, which they told me was perfectly safe. I looked it up, and there are good studies that say 3 months is fine. You could ask your doctor about those specific studies and see if you can get your schedule changed. 

    Thank you for the reply. I

    Thank you for the reply. I did ask her she said she likes to leave the port in for a year from last pet scan which means June 2021 so I am bummed.  Yes I delayed the flush because it is a hassle every 4-6 weeks and they do the nasal swab for covid every time and that is more annoying than the flush.  I guess it is a psychological thing with me Ijust want it out but she suggests leaving it in oh well

  • yetti
    yetti Member Posts: 82 Member
    #20
    Port

    I have had my port since July 2018, my last chemo was March 2019 ! I have it flushed every 3 months   I keep it Bc of labs I'm not eastY to draw blood from my arm , several pokes. ive had issues yesrs before Dx , port has never really bothered me !  And Im not keeping it Bc I'm waiting for a recurrence Bc I will not do chemo ever again regardless!

  • EZLiving66
    EZLiving66 Member Posts: 1,483 Member
    #21
    I had my port removed after

    I had my port removed after it became infected. I was only able to use it one time - the day after it was inserted. Finally, after trying for months to clear up the infection, they removed it with a numbing agent. Problem was, the skin around it was so degraded because of the infection, they couldn't get it closed. A half-hour procedure turned into a long afternoon as they tried to get it to stop bleeding. Long story short, six weeks after going to a wound care specialist, they got the infection cleared up but I have an awful scar. I've thought of having some plastic surgery to fix it because it still causes me pain but I'm afraid. File this under "if anything could go wrong, it will." LOL

    Love,

    Eldri

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