New here....Port or not

Kim
I had a different type of drugs but very similar. Doesn't really make a difference the type of drugs, just that our veins can't withstand lots of toxins. Therefor, the veins start to back up or breakdown, not quite sure how to explain.

First visit to chemo doc he wanted me to start treatments the next week. Mentioned the port but since we had no time, at least I could see how I'd adjust. Well....I didn't do well as for one thing I've got small veins so I was a pin cushion to the nurses. Did finally find a vein, but I was convinced it was worth it getting the port. I had a total of 6 chemo sessions and even today going back for follow-up appts, girls can withdraw blood from the port for testing.

I'd highly recommend it even after the first round.

Good luck,
Jan

stayingcalm said:

Hi, Kimmiann; now the other side of the coin
I had Cisplatin and Etoposide, and later on had Taxotere, no port. If your veins seem okay and you're not coming back for months of chemo, than I would say not to bother with a port - it's one less thing to worry about. Just drink lots of liquids the day before and day of treatment, and dress warmly to keep your veins plumped up. Some nurses will heat up towels to warm you and make your veins easier to access. It's more a personal choice, I think - I felt I would rather get poked with a needle than have to worry about a port; being small, I think it would be hard to position a port correctly for me, anyway
my best wishes,
stayingcalm

No port for me
I agree with stayingcalm, you will know if you need one. keep your options open. Best of luck in your treatments. ... Dan

Kimmiann said:

port
Thanks everyone for your response. I will have to see how it goes on the 10th since I can't get a port until the 15th anyway.

I'm thinking if all goes well with the 1st round I will just cancel the port on the 15th.

I had cisplatin and
I had cisplatin and vinorelbine which I took through a PICC line in my upper inner arm. Not as invasive as a port. My veins are very hard to find and "blow" easily so the picc was the way to go for me. It was a blessing because they could do all my blood work from the picc as well. Last chemo treatment they just pulled it out. The most important thing was to keep it dry (I bought a special sleeve to wear when in the shower) and to flush it every day (which I did myself).

port
hi kim im 55 yrs old i had 4 rounds of chemo and had no port. nurses were able to find veins, as time went on though because of chemo and many blood draws it got harder for them as time went by but they were still able to do what they had to and now after a year it is getting easier again for blood draws ct scans and mri's with contrast.hope this helps and good luck. dave

port
Kim,
I did opt to have the port placed before my chemo. I also was diagnoses Stage 1B. I was scheduled to receive 4 treaments of cisplatin/alimta. My veins are horrible and my doctor did not even ask me if I wanted a port, he just scheduled the placement immediately. After my first treament my port was occluded and I had to have tpa to open the port again. It was not a big deal, just took time and I had to go back the next day for my treament. My port was removed after I had my last treament and to me the scar is worse than my scars from my surgery. It may all be in my head, but I have a pain the shoots through the area where my port was several times a week. Since my port was in for such a short period it had to be removed during a surgical procedure instead of in the doctors office. The surgeon who placed my port did not want to remove it so soon, but my oncolologist insisted that it needed to come out immediately. From what I understand, this is not the usual course. This may be the cause of my "nerve" pains. I still do not regret having the port placed. Like one of the comments said, I would have been a pin cushion and there still would have been no guarantee that my veins would have stood up to the strong drugs. I need the few good veins I have for further use and don't want to ruin them now. Looking back, though, I do think that the PICC line would have been a better choice for me.

Kim