not a proud moment

Hey lindylu, As i was reading your post,  I thought of my situation.  First of all, maybe it wasnt during this situation for me, but i certainly had bad moments like that at other times.  But this is what i was thinking.  When i was first starting out in this jurney trying to decide if i wanted to do chemo or not, i found myself in my doctors office asking him all my questions, asking for all of my pathology report and all the other stuff i needed at the time.  My plan going in there was not to start doing chemo, just to ask the questions i needed.  Well  after i was done, the nurse who was there and the doctor was ready to have me make an appointment to get my port in and do chemo.  Boy was i over wellmed.  Luckly my dad told the doctor that i still wanted another opinion. and he relucktantly aggreed.  I left there knowing i needed more time.  I did go home that night and read over the full pathology report and was leaning towards doing chemo but still wasnt sure.  I remember the nurse calling me and wanting to set up the appointment for chemo and wasnt sure still and if i remember right we decided to wait until i new more ( i still didnt know who was going to watch my kids at that time either)  It was my birthday that week she was calling and when i finally decided to do chemo, I told her i didnt want to do it on my birthday and told her the only days i could do it (that is when i could find a baby sitter for my kids) so it was finally worked out but my sceduale did matter too.

Im glad you moved your chemo for a week after your first visit.  What you feel  and need is imortant.  That time after the first doctors appointment was very impotant to me.  I needed it. 

Good luck with your visit

janae

Sometimes I think the schedulers don't understand the emotional impact of starting chemo.  There was a mix-up in my chemo scheduling as well.  For some reason, they had not noticed that I was to get both carboplatin AND taxol, and had scheduled me for only an hour for the carbo.  I went to my chemo orientation, knowing that my first chemo was scheduled for the following week.  At the orientation, the woman running it came up to me, said they had made a mistake and they had scheduled me for chemo the next day.  I could feel my entire body clench up... I was NOT prepared to do that and I told her so.  Plus, I was recovering from a gastric episode.  And I was already dealing with the massive amount of information they were giving at the orientation.  Luckily, they were able to re-schedule me back in to the following week.  So, don't be too hard on yourself.  I'm sure you're not the first patient who has "lost it."

As everyone has said, just apologize.  Be gentle with yourself...  this is not an easy thing to deal with on any level.

Dont beat yourself up to much.  They should understand how stressed you are right now, and they have probably heard it all before.  I think it is very caring of  you to be conserned about their feelings.  i think that bring cookies or fruit is a wonderful idea, one that would win their hearts over and they will see what a caring person you are.

Come here to vent anytime. We all have times we need to do that and sometimes. And we are here to listen.

Hugs and prayers, Lou Ann

Lindy, One consolation is that each of the ste like dealing with the port will make you stronger by showing you how much you can take! 

My husband never had a port when he was treated for lymphoma.  No side effects.  He did have good veins.  Make sure she isn't dehydrated and drinks mucho water before going in.  Not everyone gets ports, they are easier but not essential as chemo for years and years was given IV.  If she does have problems then you can revisit your decisions.  Good luck and God bless.

I had a port and I was glad that I did.  Taxol, in particular, can do a job on your veins and soft tissue, and I wanted to avoid that.  It makes it very easy for the nurses to administer the drugs.  They were always thrilled when they realized I had a port.

If you have a "power port," draws for blood can be done through them as well as injection of dyes for scans, as long as the techs are qualified to do so.   

The surgical "implantation" was very easy, done under twilight sleep.  It was sore for a few days, but I never even needed to take pain meds.  I had limited mobility for a while with that arm, but that resolved pretty quickly as well.  I had no problems with infection, though some have had horrendous problems. (Cue Eldri.)

It does show, particularly as I am very slender, and I have not worn a lot of low scoop neck tops I would normally, but that's a minor disadvantage.  Since I have elected to keep mine in for a while, I have to have it flushed periodically, which takes about a minute.  Quickest visit to the infusion center ever.

As Brissance said, it's not necessary, but I found it to be a very convenient way to go.

rcdeman said:

Will keep you updated!

Thanks for all your thoughts and experiences with the ports. I will discuss this with my mom and then further discuss it again with the med. onc. We are not sure right now, but I'm assuming that her chemo will probably start as soon as next week (as soon as we get our PET/CT results back and get her checkup with the gyn/onc this Friday.)

Will keep you all updated. Thank you all for your support.  You've all been so helpful. I don't know what I would've done without you all.

Love,
Rebecca

I had a port but had nothing but trouble with it.  It could only be used once - the day after it was installed.  After that, because of being infected, it was never used again.  I couldn't get rid of the infection and finally had it removed.  Then, it still wouldn't heal and I had to go to the Wound Care Clinic.  Now, I have a huge scar with lots of scar tissue and sometimes it still feels like it's burning.  But, that being said, I do not have good veins and all and it was miserable trying to get that needle into a good vein.  One day, it took four attempts before they got it in and then I couldn't move my arm for four hours.

Good luck!!!

Love,

Eldri

rcdeman said:

The Subject of Ports. Yes or No?

Talking about the port, my mom's gyn/onc is planning to give her chemo treatment using IV through her arm. He said she looked like she has strong veins and is hoping she won't need more chemo treatment in the longterm (which would warrant a port then), but I'm concerned about the repercussions of taking chemo through her arm veins. Should I insist she get a port? Seems like most people have preferred the port over the IV via arm. What are the pros and cons of each?

it simplifies everything. saves your veins from having to be accessed every time,  blood can be drawn though it.  Can be used for contrasts for CT scans.  I dont even know I have mine. It never bothered me at all, just had to shower with plastic wrap over it for a week.  Mine was put in while I was awake with only local numming.  Actually I have had two, I had the first one removed to quickly, had a recurrence and had to,have a second one.

Hugs and prayers, Lou Ann