Port Removal Thursday

Good for you
I hope everything goes alright. Tell them you need a valuim(sp) before the twilight sleep and maybe it will help the verced to work. My husband is a nurse and that's what they give him before having all his teeth pulled for dentures.

Debbie

Buzzard said:

Kim......
Tell the Dr that you are going to another Dr to have it removed and tell them that you want to be KO'd (knocked out)...If they don't like it go somewhere else...don't let em push ya around girl, your a cancer survivor, you deserve better treatment .....and congrats on your port removal coming up...you go girlfriend !!!

It wasn't bad
I had my port removed last month and they just gave me a local to numb the area. I was really nervous about that, but it was fine. I felt a little tugging but that was all. No pain. I was really glad to get it out. Hope yours goes fine. I know you will be glad to get rid of it.
Good luck, Carletta

port
My port was removed 3 months after my last chemo treatment and a few weeks after my reversal. It was done in the Doctors office, my surgeon removed it. They numbed the area. I could tell he was tugging to remove it but felt no pain. I was sore for a few days after. It was the last reminder of all I had went thru, I wanted it gone as soon as possible. Sure was glad I had it though during treatment.

Another Milestone.
That's great Kim. It will be nice to have it gone. My removal was a simple process. In the OR under a local. Snip, snip, tug, gone. I hope it goes as well for you.

Rob; in Van

Just another step
I love you great news about your port being removed. It's just another step in your cancer fight. You're almost done!!!


Brooks

Annabelle41415 said:

Blood
Very seldom did I have my blood taken from my port. I had to have weekly blood drawn and it was too inconvenient to drive to the oncology clinic so I usually just went to the doctors and they took it from the arm, plus I got charged $35 each time they accessed the port so I figured I'll save my money and use the arm. Glad your port is healing (slowly but surely) and no infections.

Kim

I ended up using the port
I ended up using the port today - needed two bags of fluids along with the labs... of course the nurse had a lot of trouble finding the port and the access spot due to all the swelling. Soon I'm hoping this port will be a blessing - right now it still bothers me. But compared to everything else right now it isn't that big of a problem.

Wednesday
I just had my port removed yesterday. My story was pretty unique, though because I kept my "security blanket" in for 8 yrs to the day. It was put in Oct 2001. I had 6 weeks pre surgery chemo, surgery Jan 22, 2002, more chemo until July 2002, and ileostomy reversed Sept 2002. I went routinly to get it flushed every 4 months as directed, and they always got a good blood return. Finally, the oncologist planted the seed that maybe I should let the patients who NEED oncology services come there, and I wasn't one of them!

So, I ended up having to be loopy and get some anesthesia because it was in there so long. I have visions of the surgeon bracing his foot on me while he yanks it out! lol Although that wasn't the case, he did mention to my husband that it was in there pretty good.

I feel like that chapter of my life is now complete. Great feeling!

I will keep you in my thoughts today so that your surgery is smooth and the doctor's hands are gentle...I'm sure you'll do just fine!

Warm hugs,

Stacy

StacyGleaso said:

Wednesday
I just had my port removed yesterday. My story was pretty unique, though because I kept my "security blanket" in for 8 yrs to the day. It was put in Oct 2001. I had 6 weeks pre surgery chemo, surgery Jan 22, 2002, more chemo until July 2002, and ileostomy reversed Sept 2002. I went routinly to get it flushed every 4 months as directed, and they always got a good blood return. Finally, the oncologist planted the seed that maybe I should let the patients who NEED oncology services come there, and I wasn't one of them!

So, I ended up having to be loopy and get some anesthesia because it was in there so long. I have visions of the surgeon bracing his foot on me while he yanks it out! lol Although that wasn't the case, he did mention to my husband that it was in there pretty good.

I feel like that chapter of my life is now complete. Great feeling!

I will keep you in my thoughts today so that your surgery is smooth and the doctor's hands are gentle...I'm sure you'll do just fine!

Warm hugs,

Stacy

congratulations
Congratulations on having your port removed. Mine was done with only a local, I felt pretty tough making it thru that, I without thinking scratched my nose and touched my surgeons hand while he doing this. He had to stop and reglove up. I had to have the nurse scratch any itches. I was pretty nervous during the procedure. It was strange knowing he was tugging to get the port out, but no pain.

Kathryn_in_MN said:

After the trouble I've had I
After the trouble I've had I have been promised that mine will come out the same way it went in - under enough conscious sedation to knock me out, in the hospital OR.

Since you've had trouble all along, insist on this for you too. You can go to a general surgeon and ask for this.

So glad your scans are clear and you can have your port removed!

(Mine is still quite swollen after a week, and bothers me - but compared to the chemo side effects, I hardly notice it right now... I think I'm going to ask them to draw my labs from my arm tomorrow rather than my port.)

Port removal
Firt congradulation! I have had mine for about 1 1/2 weeks and I can hardly wait until it is gone. I have quite a bit of swelling also, they pocked and pocked yesterday. I was given a RX of numbing medication to put on it 1 hr prior to chemo and then the nurse sprayed some cold stuff on it to also numb it before they accessed it. It still hurt!

Thanks for the posts about having to pay extra to have the port accessed. I think they can still draw blood from my arms and save the pocking on the port for chemo especially if I can save $35.00 a stick. (I really am not the cheepest person in the world, I like to think I am frugal!) O.k. I will tell you the truth, I know what arm sticks are all about but I am scared of constant port sticks, what about infection as the white count falls? Probably not a concern but I am thinking about it.
Jan