Power Port & 5FU treatments

Veinal Port
Mickey,
I had the exact same Chemo as you are going to have. I took mine through the port as an enhancer for my radiation. It was 24/7 for 5 weeks also. The same as you are going to get, if you drink coffee enjoy it today because it may make you sick tomorrow to smell it. I tolerated the chemo well and no I didn't lose any hair at all. This type is pretty mild and is pretty much for colorectal patients and targets that particular cancer which in what they tell me just doesn't have the side effects that the stronger stuff does. It will change the way you eat or the way things taste. You will adjust to it though. It was more trouble for me to sleep with all that hanging than anything else. What you have to do is realize that it won't come out and I just let the whole tubing loose and placed the fanny pack beside me in the bed and if I rolled up in it it would finally wake me up. It never caused me any hurt but you have to get use to it. I will say it did hurt a little when they put the needle in the port for the first time but its not a big deal after the first time. I am now taking post operative chemo (leucovorin and oxiliplatin with 5fu) now that is a 3 day ordeal and im sick for 3 days then its pretty much over. That will last for 6 months every other Monday. Preventative systemic chemo so I am on the road to recovery and you just have to remember.....Through this entire journey you will go through, don't ever give up and say I can't do any more because you can, and every step is one more to full recovery. Also, look for ordinary days , nothing special just simple days where there are no appointments , shots, Cat or PET scans. Don't count on anything to go like you think it should, its nice when it does but if you count on something and it doesn't come out like you thought it would it is a major downfall, don't lead yourself into that trap, it will keep you upset. Live everyday like its your last, savor every moment outside or doing something pleasurable. You will undertake a world of Drs and Nurses and they all have your best interests at heart. Take your condition and take control of everything that happens to you, I had trouble with a "loss of control" issue and actually making the decisions of my treatments and such gave me back something that I was losing with this disease,"control", it doesn't allow you that, but take it. You do fine with it......Im 53 and was diagnosed in March and have had 24/7 chemo for 5 weeks, 5 week 5 days/week radiation, surgery, and am doing post op chemo now...almost home, you'll be there before you know it....Hang in there , there is a light at the end of the tunnel and its not a train..............

Hi, I also had 5fu with the
Hi, I also had 5fu with the pump every other week for 46 hrs, I did not loose my hair but it did thin a bit, I was VERY lucky I had hardly no side affects, except for the tiredness!!! I did not feel any nausea, My skin on my face is a brownish color, I look tanned! I had no problem with the port, and the needle was fine, a big pinch for a second. I consider myself very lucky, it was hard to get used to the cassette. Sometimes you forget you have it until you feel it tug on the tube! I wish you as much success as I had with the 5fu, I have surgery scheduled in a few weeks then more chemo. You will be in my prayers, hang in there, also please stay POSITIVE!!!!!!!! I think that has really gotten me through everything!
God Bless
Karyn

I lost a lot of weight prior
I lost a lot of weight prior to putting in my port so mine almost erroded through my skin. I use shea butter cream to keep the skin soft. I have since put on weight and that is not a problem anymore. I have lidocain cream I put on before I go for infusion and it numbs the skin then they spay the cold spray too before putting in the needle. I don't feel a thing but I notice a bruise and mild soreness when touched after the needle is removed. I have a small pillow I put next to me and then put the fanny pack with pump on it when I sleep that way my husband doesn't roll over on it and it kind of reminds me that it is there. I'm more afraind of accidently turning the pump off then pulling it out. Good luck to you and keep positive. I think the first few weeks is the hardest to get through but it will get easier.

Love my port
I had mine put in two years ago and not a moment's trouble. Sometimes that area aches a little and they said it is because the port is a "foreign body" and your body tries to get rid of it. One thing about when they insert the needle...when I moved and started to go to Moffitt Cancer Center I found that the reason I had been hurting some before, during insertion, was that not all the nurses held the port while inserting the needle. They need to steady it with thumb and fore finger of left hand (if right handed)and that totally solves the problem.
I also did 16 treatments of 5-fu and Oxaliplatin with the pump on for 48 hours. Someone said to take a shower you can hand the pump outside the shower and that works. I just didn't shower for two days. It depends on what kind of pump you get if it makes any noise. My first one made a whirring sound which made me put it under two pillows at night. The second one I got, here in Fl.with Folfiri, was different and was a plastic bottle which worked on a principle that I do not remember. Anyway, it was much lighter and made no noise.
Good luck to you. The time passes quicker then you think. I only had my hair thin, but was very tired for a couple of days after.

camera
I was bothered by the noise the pump made. To me it sounded like a digital camera and would keep me awake. I tried covering it with a pillow, but that didn't work very well. Finally, I put it in the bedside table drawer. That kept my husband and I from hearing it and we were able to sleep better.
Jo Ann