Medi-port removal timing?

My port was removed 9 months post treatment after 2 PET scans. So sorry it was a bad experience for you - ouch!  I was sedated but half awake during port installation. I chose local anesthesia for removal so I could go home sooner. Both were outpatient at a hospital. Some have had their ports removed sooner than 9 months and some later than that. I'm sure others will chime in.

Ann

Mine went very smoothly and was done 3 months after my treatment ended, at the suggestion of my med onc.  I really didn't think I would be able to get it out that soon, but he seemed confident that I would not need it again.  I had already had both a post-treatment PET scan and a CT scan--the CT sowed no evidence of disease.  Removal was quick and easy and I healed very quickly. 

Some people keep their ports much longer.  I would recommend having a discussion with your doctor about your hesitation in having it removed, since getting it was so traumatic and you do not wish to repeat that experience.  Keeping it awhile longer will do no harm as long as it's flushed periodically.  Good luck.

Mine came out about 3 months after treatment.  Not long after treatment I asked my med onc if there was any reason to keep it and said no if further treatment were necessary it wouldn't be chemo and I could have it out as soon as I wanted.  I am horrified that your port was inserted without anesthesia.  Mine was placed at the outpatient surgery center and I had a sedation that wore off quite quickly.  I remember being able to hear the doctors talking as they were finishing the procedure.  That was a little weird.  The removal was in the surgeon's office with lots and lots of local anesthetic.  I was glad to be able to walk out of there and be done with one thing that reminded my of the cancer.

I had mine removed 1 year after treatment.  Doctors said wait a year.  I was awake with removal.  Area numbed, didn't hurt at all.  I was sedated when it was put in.

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch said:

Oh

I know from posts I've read, that if cancer persists, surgery could be the next step, but I also thought that chemo was also given then, too. I can't get either the oncologist or radiation oncologist to discuss that possibility. They both say that they've never had a failure with the Mitomycin-5 FU-radiation protocol and it's probably something I need never worry about.

But I'm so darned good at worrying!

I just have to comment that for a doctor to tell a patient that they've never had a failure with this protocol and that they never need to worry about it is sort of irresponsible, IMO.  Even if I had a written guarantee from my doctors that my cancer would never return, I would still worry about it.  Doctors just don't get it sometimes.

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch said:

Thanks, mp327 ---

I think that the doctors are trying to keep me positive, misguided as they might be. I'm the kind of person who likes to know all the landmarks ahead even if I take the next available exit.

So, Ms mp327: from your much more thorough knowledge of this disease than I have, if the standard procedure doesn't clear the cancer away, IS surgery the usual next step? If any remaining cancer is very small and constrained, is surgery still the next usual step? I can't say that I find that route any more appealing than another round of that awful radiation and chemotherapy. If surgery is performed, is it usually followed up by more chemo and/or radiation?

I really appreciate all the time and attention you have expended on me.

I think it's good that your doctors are trying to give you encouragement--mine do that too, only with a word of caution that cancer sometimes has a mind of its own.

If a person has had surgical removal of a tumor because it was very small and then it comes back, chemo and radiation can be done.  However, if chemo/radiation was the first line of treatment and there is a recurrence, surgery is usually the next step.  It's my understanding that more radiation cannot be done to the area that was originally treated, so it's unlikely that after surgery such as APR, radiation would be part of the protocol.  However, chemo may be done after surgery as extra insurance to make sure all of the cancer is gone.  I am no expert, but I suppose it's possible that if a recurrence would be very small when detected, local excision may be attempted, although I do not know that for sure.

Thank you for your kind words.  We are all in this together and you have made some very good contributions to this site as well and I thank you for that!  Take care.

Martha

I couln't stand the port and wanted it out as soon as they were done with chemo.but they wouldn't take it out until "they didn't think they'd need it anymore."  I finished treatment in March and got it out in August after being made to get a a colonoscopy before they'd remove it. 

The removal was in the office and really wasn't bad.  They numbed the area and stitched me up when it was out.  I was scared, too, when they said they'd do it in the office because it hurt like hell for a week when they put it in.  I was aware of it and hated it the whole time it was in but the removal really was much easier.  It took a few months for the bump that I assume was the capsule of tissue that formed around it to finally go away.

To me being "deported" was another milestone indicating that all was well and I was getting back to normal.

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch said:

Pity party?

Thank you, mp327. That was very clear. My fingers, toes, and eyes are all crossed that the cancer has evaporated.

While I was in treatment, I was hospitalized after each chemo round due to neutropenic fevers; my WBC dropped to 0.2 in spite of daily Neupogen shots; I also had internal radiation burns (had to take morphine for a brief time in addition to Fentanyl), I had 7-8 weeks of watery radiation enteritis; I had painful external burns (skin sloughing off in bloody sheets - no Silvadene for me as I may be allergic to sulfa drugs). Therefore, I had some big gaps in the radiation visits, but did finally finish. The radiation oncologist told me that gaps do not signify; it's the total radiation dose that counts and I got that.

However, I see so many posts here from people who not only took no breaks in treatment, but some even drove themselves every day throughout. If any cancer remains, I will surely blame myself due to those treatment gaps.

(PS: I absolutely realize that many of the things I went through are common experiences for the people here. I also realize that there are people who had a much worse time than I did. For example, I know of a woman who, after she had her 1st Mitomycin dose, spent two weeks in ICU on life support and has no memory of that time. I cannot imagine going through what some of the people here have gone through. They are far braver than I could ever be.)

I had built in breaks from radiation because it was done during the holidays.  I think that saved me from having an actual break.  It is rough.  I, too, am amazed at the way some are able to handle the treatment.  I became neutropenic after about two weeks of treatment.  I received lots of neupogen shots (that time is a fog to me).  I am still having problems with low WBC.  I was curious if your numbers have come up.  The doctor sometimes acts like it's no big deal and then other times seems really concerned.  My count is now 2.8.  It had gotten up to 3.3 after receiving iron infusion treatment (the iron is for anemia).  But the iron count is staying up and the WBC has gone down.  Not sure what they will do now.  Hopefully, just wait and see.  I feel good and knock wood, haven't been sick.

Judy