I'm so pissed

Yep
I had exactly the same thing happen last year. My port would flip in my chest and they couldn't access it. I had to have it removed and put in right, and that surgeon thought he was going in to fix it? No way!! It was aweful but you will get through it. New port and restart chemo....sorry for the bump. It is just so frustrating to know that this will stretch out your chemo because someone (your surgeon)didn't do their job! uuuuuggghhh...

Kimby

CherylHutch said:

Hugggs!
You have every right to be livid... that is insanity that this doctor would "forget" to sew it in place. I think that's what would make me the maddest... it may not be a big thing to him, but hey, it's YOUR body he's mucking around with and now it's causing you great discomfort and a break in your treatment.

I'm sure the break won't put you in any kind of jeopardy. If it did, your oncologist would come up with a solution even if it meant doing the chemo by IV until your port healed. But for her to say she'd like to wait until the port is fixed and healed, then she would already have thought of whether not doing the treatment was a problem or not... and obviously she doesn't think it is a problem. But if it starts bugging you, give her a call and ask her.

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

Hi JenBen,
I had trouble
Hi JenBen,
I had trouble with my port and needed it replaced during chemo. Instead of delaying treatment I did two treaments of Oxliplatin & 5FU by vien in my arm, one treatment I just skipped the pump infustion and the other I came in two days later for an infusion of 5FU in place of the pump.
Janet

msccolon said:

AGGHHHHH!
And she wants the guy who screwed it up the first time to go back in and do it again? Are you just supposed to believe THIS time he'll do it right???? I would be looking for a different surgeon to place the new port! And I agree, speak with your onc about whether you should just get some treatments via IV, coming back in days 2 and 3 for 5FU infusion since you won't have the pump; see what she says. Good luck with that and be sure to spread the word to other survivors in your vicinity at treatments about that crappy surgeon!
mary

ooohhhh that's crappy
You have every single right to be pissed off Jen....sounds like mass confusion.

Don't know if it helps but I have done several months of 5FU 5days a week by iv infusion.
Yesterday I started oxalyplatin just in the vein 2 hour infusion. never had a port for any of it. Not suggesting you don't get that port fixed up but it is very possible to do your chemo by IV if you were really feeling you didn't want to fall behind.

Good luck sweetie and rant on....
Hugs
Mags

Hi Jen,

Hi Jen,
You often hear comments fron the sufferers of serious diseases that the cure is worse than the disease. Well it's true. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the specialists who deliver these cures had to have a little taste of what they deliver. I was very lucky my oncologist had a serious blood disorder that required him to have chemo. As a result he built an oncology clinic that would not have been out of place on a mediterranian beach. All of the chemo was done in comfortable recliners or beds. We were allowed to bring oue own cds and play them during chemo ,subject to the other patients. No one ever complained. I had 5fu every tuesday for a year. It was delivered via canula in the back of alternate hands each week. He always used a local to put the canula in.. Over the year I watched the veins in each arm turn dark brown all the way up to the shoulder. My family was horrified. I thought it was sort of cool ,at least i could see where the chemo was going. At times all of my chemo friends would get soundly miffed about some part of chemo... infections,,falling blood counts and all manner of nasty side effects. we were able to bounce off each other and eventually we all embraced the stoicism that lets you make it thru long periods of hardship.
So its all right to get pissed off with things,just bounce it off us in here then stand up dust yourself off and get back into the fight. Good luck with the port and my best wishes for a long and healthy life beyond ca...Ron.

Queen of the Port Problems -
Well, here I am! Queen of th eport problems - two years ago whe I started my chemo - my port could not be accessed , every onc nurse in the place had to come give it a go - None could do it. One lady - the big kahuna - said " oh I have been doing this 30 years" - she couldn;t get it in.... she even cried real tears, as she stabbed at my chest and I screamed. SO - I too went to the CT machine to have a radiologist "fix" it - he did and they could access it better. Here's the kicker...... I had to do my chemo in the hospital 48 hour drip - in patient - and get this my port only worked when I was FLAT N MY BACK - SO guess what I did for 48 hours - every other week times 12 rounds - NOTHING! When I would get up to pee or brish my teeth - that dang beeper would ring as the pump stopped working - it was like chinese torture. I envied the other mobile upright chemo patients as they wheeled their pumps around the hospital chatting it up! Wait I just did the math - that 576 hours on back just do get chemo! Whew! What a champ I am.... are you feeling better yet?????
Well, here's the funny part - so as I treat to myself, for my last 48 drip, I opted to use my arm, and NOT my port - so I could sit up and really enjoy the hospital experience for the last time, and guess what - half way into it my arm hurt so bad, I was begging for them to access that dam port!
Well, that port is out of my body now, and lives in my jewelry drawer, a little reminder of that crazy time.

Also - when they removed it , it was found that my surgeon thought to put a tiny kid-size port in as I was thin, which os partly why the stupid thing didn't work!

I am still in favor of ports - they have to better all around - I just thought you all might like to hear my port fiasco! If anything, to make yu fell better about yours!