carbo/taxotere without port?

tmc576
tmc576 Member Posts: 60 Member
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Anyone go through chemo without a port? My mom's cardiologist wont let her stop taking her plavix to have the port put in. Surgeon wont put it in if her bloodwork shows something - mom talked to the dr, and she couldn't remember exactly what they would be looking for. So, blood work tomorrw, then decision on whether port will be placed on Thurs. First round of carbo/taxotere scheduled for June 2.

Anyway, anyone go through several rounds of chemo with a traditional IV?

Tracey

Comments

  • upsofloating
    upsofloating Member Posts: 466 Member
    #2
    Two years ago I went thru
    Two years ago I went thru the six-cycle, every-3-weeks Carbo/Taxol regimen without a port. I didn't have any problems. For whatever reason, my medical onc did not suggest one. I had previously had chemo - a number of years ago - and did not have a port then either. I've since had a port placed for my current chemo treatments under care of a gyn onc.
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980
    #3
    upsofloating said:

    Two years ago I went thru
    Two years ago I went thru the six-cycle, every-3-weeks Carbo/Taxol regimen without a port. I didn't have any problems. For whatever reason, my medical onc did not suggest one. I had previously had chemo - a number of years ago - and did not have a port then either. I've since had a port placed for my current chemo treatments under care of a gyn onc.

    I did my 1st 6 rounds of carbo/taxol with no port.
    I didn't have a port put in until I had a recurrence and they were thinking of using Doxil which they would not administer without a port. But I did my initial treatment protocol of 6 rounds of carbo/taxol with no port. By the final round they had to wrap my arms in hot towels to plump up my veins, and when I got scans they needed to bring in a special "IV team" because they couldn't get a needle into my chemo-scarred veins for the contrast. I love my Power Port, ugly as it is. (It stands out from my chest 1/4" because I'm so scrawney.)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
    lindaprocopio said:

    I did my 1st 6 rounds of carbo/taxol with no port.
    I didn't have a port put in until I had a recurrence and they were thinking of using Doxil which they would not administer without a port. But I did my initial treatment protocol of 6 rounds of carbo/taxol with no port. By the final round they had to wrap my arms in hot towels to plump up my veins, and when I got scans they needed to bring in a special "IV team" because they couldn't get a needle into my chemo-scarred veins for the contrast. I love my Power Port, ugly as it is. (It stands out from my chest 1/4" because I'm so scrawney.)

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #5
    Just curious.....wonder what
    Just curious.....wonder what the Cardiologist would say if your mom had to have surgery for, say, a "hot" appendix? Or a bowel obstruction? The port is definitely the way to go - for your mom's comfort - if at all possible. Chemo without a port is not impossible, but it sure is more of a challenge.

    Carlene
  • nancy591
    nancy591 Member Posts: 1,027 Member
    #6
    9 rounds
    I did 9 rounds without a port. I always had 'great' veins. Towards the end they started having problems getting a vein. When I restarted chemo after remission I asked for a port. It has helped greatly as now my viens are shot.
  • arbor3
    arbor3 Member Posts: 103
    #7
    PORT VS IV
    I have had 7 rounds of chemo since I was dx in 2006. I have always had the traditional IV. I am on Chemo now and hopeful my veins hold up. I had topotecan and it is a 5 day , in a row, chemo and they left the IV in my arm for the whole week.
  • tmc576
    tmc576 Member Posts: 60 Member
    #8
    arbor3 said:

    PORT VS IV
    I have had 7 rounds of chemo since I was dx in 2006. I have always had the traditional IV. I am on Chemo now and hopeful my veins hold up. I had topotecan and it is a 5 day , in a row, chemo and they left the IV in my arm for the whole week.

    Thanks
    Thanks everyone, glad to hear that it is doable. My mom is a little worried, because she doesn't have that great of veins to start with - she typically has trouble with IV's and even sometimes blood draws.

    Carlene - I really like my mom's cardiologist, but he is so frustrating! The reason he is so firm with her staying on the plavix is she had a stent placed in her heart in January. It is supposedly imparitve to stay on the plavix at all times during the first year. Even when she had her hysterectomy, he only allowed her to be off for three days, so she lost a lot of blood during surgery - she needed to two units of blood, and two units of plasma, than two more units of blood the next morning. When she had her gall bladder surgery last summer, he wouldn't let her stop taking it at all. He argued with the surgeon, that if he was a skilled surgeon, he would be able to do the surgery and control the blood loss.

    This surgeon who will place the port will check to see how fast my mom's blood clots. If that is acceptable, she will go ahead with it on Thursday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because I think it will make the chemo a little easier.


    Tracey
  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #9
    tmc576 said:

    Thanks
    Thanks everyone, glad to hear that it is doable. My mom is a little worried, because she doesn't have that great of veins to start with - she typically has trouble with IV's and even sometimes blood draws.

    Carlene - I really like my mom's cardiologist, but he is so frustrating! The reason he is so firm with her staying on the plavix is she had a stent placed in her heart in January. It is supposedly imparitve to stay on the plavix at all times during the first year. Even when she had her hysterectomy, he only allowed her to be off for three days, so she lost a lot of blood during surgery - she needed to two units of blood, and two units of plasma, than two more units of blood the next morning. When she had her gall bladder surgery last summer, he wouldn't let her stop taking it at all. He argued with the surgeon, that if he was a skilled surgeon, he would be able to do the surgery and control the blood loss.

    This surgeon who will place the port will check to see how fast my mom's blood clots. If that is acceptable, she will go ahead with it on Thursday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, because I think it will make the chemo a little easier.


    Tracey

    HI, TRACY
    I had 6 rounds IV chemo in 2000, and 6 rounds again in 2006. Never a port. Mom needs to drink lots of water hours before chemo to help plump up the veins. Second time around I did develop 'chemical phlebitis' in the left arm, which meant it was no longer good to use for chemo (hopefully, I'll never need it) or blood tests. That was after my last chemo (2006), and I'm now getting blood tests from that arm.

    My mom, who was 80, got a port because her veins weren't the greatest. The port worked wonderfully for her. So, at least there are choices. Hope you're mom's decision is the best for her.

    Sending hugs and prayers!
    Monika
  • tmc576
    tmc576 Member Posts: 60 Member
    #10
    It's in.
    Power port put in today. Had a little excess bleeding and had to stay in recovery an extra hour. Mom is in more pain than we expected, but her tolerance has dropped after all she has been through. Hopefully she will be feeling better in a day or so. I am assuming they will be able to access the port on Wednesday, even before the stiches are out?
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #11
    tmc576 said:

    It's in.
    Power port put in today. Had a little excess bleeding and had to stay in recovery an extra hour. Mom is in more pain than we expected, but her tolerance has dropped after all she has been through. Hopefully she will be feeling better in a day or so. I am assuming they will be able to access the port on Wednesday, even before the stiches are out?

    My port was placed "early"
    My port was placed "early" because I had to go on TPN feedings in the hospital, post-surgery. It was accessed about 12 hours after placement.

    Carlene
  • tmc576
    tmc576 Member Posts: 60 Member
    #12
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    My port was placed "early"
    My port was placed "early" because I had to go on TPN feedings in the hospital, post-surgery. It was accessed about 12 hours after placement.

    Carlene

    Wow!
    I had no idea they could access it that soon. My mom's is SO sensitve right now.
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #13
    tmc576 said:

    Wow!
    I had no idea they could access it that soon. My mom's is SO sensitve right now.

    They numb the area with
    They numb the area with topical anesthetic cream. The "stick" when they access it will be painless, if you have a good, experienced nurse.

    I have had several blood transfusions since my surgery/treatment and they were all administered via the port. It really is a Godsend.

    Carlene

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