Painful port

The only pain I had with my port was the actual incision line, which took a long time to heal for some reason. It "pinches" a little when I roll over the wrong way during sleeping. I am constantly told by other doctors and nurses that I have an outstanding surgeon and he does excellent work...maybe that is why I don't have pain. Nobody that I've ever had chemo with has ever talked about the type of pain you are talking about.

I have heard from other ladies that they have had their ports left in for up to 4 years. They leave it in if they think there is some likelihood you will need it down the line for further chemo...not because you need it for radiation. I once heard of somebody having a port for 10 years...but my oncologist said that would be REALLY unusual. As long as you have the port flushed every 3 months and take the tiny dose of blood thinner every day, I was told there was no risk of the port clogging up.

rizzo15 said:

P.S. from Rizzo. I forgot to mention that I wore a sports bra to bed for 2-3 weeks after surgery. But this is because I am very full breasted and going completely unsupported during the night seemed to pull on the incision at the beginning and cause some pain. I give the port a big plus in my book because of the "one stick" concept. This is really important to me as I have impossibly fine veins. They would have poked me to death if I didn't have it for chemo.

Hi Amelia, I don't have any pain with my port either, and never really did. It pinched a little at first for awhile, but nothing that was a big deal. I do get a weird feeling in my arm occainsionally kind of achy if I have it much above shoulder height for long. Maybe you should call your surgen just to be sure, it would make you feel better. I plan on having my port in for a year, through radiation, because I'm getting herceptin for that long. The thought doesn't bother me at all, I'm with rizzo that I'm glad it's there. Good luck, Judy

Hi Amelia,
My name is Michael, and I am not a breast ca. I am a leukemia survivor. After I kept accidentally ripping out my groshung tri-luminal external catheter the doctors finally suggested a Medi-Port to be put under my skin in my left chest wall. Yes, the pain was very bad after surgery, but went away after about ten days. But I did feel and notice pinches, and aches in that area for about a month. I had that thing in my chest for three years. You just have to have it flushed once in a while to keep from clogging. Here is a tip: Ask you Dr for EMLA cream. It is an anesthetic that prevents the sting when the doctor accesses the port. Applied an hour before, the EMLA really helps. Well, good luck with your new "friend" LOL
-Michael
acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Dear Amelia
I hated my port! I could not wait to have it out.It pinched when I raised my arms to high in the air and I was forever rolling on it in my sleep and it would wake me up everytime.

I had it almost two years and it drove me NUTS for almost the whole time, however, on the days I had chemo I was glad it was there.

I saw how much trouble the nurses had with those folks that did not have them. Double edged sword as the saying goes.

Good Luck and God Bless
Jerilyn