Is a port necessary?

Barneygirl
Barneygirl Member Posts: 90
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I had a port 7 years ago and it was great at the time. It became infected in 2006 and I came down with sepsis and barely made it and the infected port was removed. I will need to start chemo again soon and wonder if they will suggest another port. Pros and cons??

Comments

  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #2
    Port
    It seems to be standard procedure to install a port for chemo. I denied it at first, on the bad advice of another patient. I finally had one installed a few weeks later than the doctor had originally planned. It really helped me, as I was in and out of the hospital, and my peripheral veins were playing hide-n-seek. The real upshot is that it spares your peripheral veins from potential damage from the chemo drugs.
  • Radioactive34
    Radioactive34 Member Posts: 391 Member
    #3
    I had the port put in and
    I had the port put in and loved the ease with which chemo was given. When I went in for chemo, I inevitably heard the nurses chatting with patients about trying to find good spots for "todays," chemo with other patients.

    At one point I vividly remember this man complaining about how much it hurt to have the chemo in the vein. I felt so bad for him. Once I read the complete side effects of my chemo I was super happy with the port.

    One of the side effects of both my chemos was damage and scarring to the surrounding area of a vein inserted IV drip.
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #4
    Love the Port
    I have a port and love it I would not want to do it any other way. It is so easy to access and there is no pain while going throgh the chemo. My chemo takes 8 hours to do so I woul not want it to be through a vain.

    Anne
  • mom2greatkids
    mom2greatkids Member Posts: 528
    #5
    Tethys41 said:

    Port
    It seems to be standard procedure to install a port for chemo. I denied it at first, on the bad advice of another patient. I finally had one installed a few weeks later than the doctor had originally planned. It really helped me, as I was in and out of the hospital, and my peripheral veins were playing hide-n-seek. The real upshot is that it spares your peripheral veins from potential damage from the chemo drugs.

    I am so glad I have a port.
    I am so glad I have a port. I have very deep, difficult to find veins. After surgery I went home bruised from where they attempted to start IV's. I too find the port to be a painless way to take chemo.
  • Barneygirl
    Barneygirl Member Posts: 90
    #6
    AnneBehymer said:

    Love the Port
    I have a port and love it I would not want to do it any other way. It is so easy to access and there is no pain while going throgh the chemo. My chemo takes 8 hours to do so I woul not want it to be through a vain.

    Anne

    Thanks Ladies. I guess I'll
    Thanks Ladies. I guess I'll go ahead and get one again.
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980
    #7
    Barneygirl said:

    Thanks Ladies. I guess I'll
    Thanks Ladies. I guess I'll go ahead and get one again.

    I was told that they only gave Doxil via a port.
    I was so SURE I was going to be CURED by my initial adjuvant carbo/taxol that I didn't get a port for those first 6 rounds of chemo. By the final 2 rounds my veins had already gotten so bad that they had to call in the IV team to get into a vein, and my hands would wswell up with baseball-sized swellings. When I recurred the 1st time, Doxil was being considered as my 2nd line chemo and where I go they only like to give Doxil via a port. So I had a port placed and WISH so MUCH that I had gotten a port from the very beginning. I LOVE my Power Port. Being constantly stuck with needles gets old VERY fast, and with a port, it's just punch-and-go for your labs, aqnd then once accessed, anything else you need to get that day can all go through your port. You're making the right decision.

    I'll tell you what my surgeon said when he placed my port, since I don't think this advice is universally given. He said that I should put on a bra the minute I get up and leave it on until I go to bed, to relieve that downward pull on your port from the weight of your breasts. This is especially true when your port is still new and somewhat tender. (Cup your hand under your breast on that side once you have your surgery and push it up and you'll see what I mean.) Shorten up your bra straps and hike 'the girls' up. I'm not particularly busty, but this really was a helpful hint. I continue to wear a good bra daily since I aqm boney where my port is and i don't want those 3 little nubs pushing through my skin. (I understand that Bard now makes a PowerPort without the nubs, so ask about that!) I even bought 2 sleep bras to wear to bed those first couple of weeks since that support did take the prssure off my port incision. The sleep bras have come in handy since then to wear for scans, since they have no metal fasteners or underwires and you can leave them on during the scan.
  • msfanciful
    msfanciful Member Posts: 559
    #8
    I'm glad I have my port to
    I'm glad I have my port to this very day.

    Mine was first implanted in 2007 and with monthly flushings; to this day I have had no
    problems. Mine is located on my right side above the breast.

    Being that I have stage iv ovca, I just assume it will be with me until there is a need to
    remove it because having had 4 separate periods of chemotherapy; I couldn't imagine putting my veins through the harsh effects of chemo each time.

    Sharon
  • wfisaac
    wfisaac Member Posts: 60
    #9
    I didn't get a port and I
    I didn't get a port and I did ok, but when I was going into the clinical trial for a year I had decided that if I got picked for one of the drug arms of the study I would go ahead and get one. But, I got picked for the observation only arm so I didn't get a port. IF....and I'm really hoping that remains just an "IF" I ever have to go through chemo again I will get one. I didn't have any problems medically by doing the chemo through my veins but I could tell if I had to do it much longer it could have been an issue. Plus, I hated that I couldn't do anything with my arm that whole time. I would bring stuff to do but couldn't do it because I had to keep my arm still.
  • Barneygirl
    Barneygirl Member Posts: 90
    #10
    wfisaac said:

    I didn't get a port and I
    I didn't get a port and I did ok, but when I was going into the clinical trial for a year I had decided that if I got picked for one of the drug arms of the study I would go ahead and get one. But, I got picked for the observation only arm so I didn't get a port. IF....and I'm really hoping that remains just an "IF" I ever have to go through chemo again I will get one. I didn't have any problems medically by doing the chemo through my veins but I could tell if I had to do it much longer it could have been an issue. Plus, I hated that I couldn't do anything with my arm that whole time. I would bring stuff to do but couldn't do it because I had to keep my arm still.

    When I got rid of my port in
    When I got rid of my port in 2006, it was very liberating. It was as if I was saying goodbye to cancer for good. And I did for 5 years. Now with the recurrence, getting a port is like surrendering once again to this disease that I thought I conquered. I will get over it, and I now understand that a port is easier overall. Thanks for your suggestions Linda. I'll be sure to wear a good bra!
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #11
    Barneygirl said:

    When I got rid of my port in
    When I got rid of my port in 2006, it was very liberating. It was as if I was saying goodbye to cancer for good. And I did for 5 years. Now with the recurrence, getting a port is like surrendering once again to this disease that I thought I conquered. I will get over it, and I now understand that a port is easier overall. Thanks for your suggestions Linda. I'll be sure to wear a good bra!

    My first port was put in
    My first port was put in just a couple of days after my de-bulking surgery, because I had started vomiting and they could not stop it, so I went on TPN (also got 2 units of blood thru it). Almost exactly a year later, it eroded thru the skin, and I had 4 more maintenance chemo treatments to go. My doctor said, "Your choice.....port or no port." The old one HAD to come out, and I let them install a new one on the other side.

    That was in Oct, 2010. A couple of weeks ago I had hernia repair surgery and had my port removed. If I have a recurrence, I will have a third one placed. Once you trash your veins, it's hell to do chemo or even simple labs and IVs, forever after.

    Carlene
  • cfont11
    cfont11 Member Posts: 115
    #12
    Port or no Port
    I had my first 6 chemos through IV and it was OK but it usually took the nurses several times to get the IV in. Recently I was in the hospital and now my veins are all shot. I had 2 more chemos after surgery, was in remission for 2 months and now I have to start chemo again. I have had 2 treatments of Gemzar and it was very painful getting through the IV. I have a consultation on Friday with a surgeon to have a port put in. I had a lot of questions like is it really necessary, how long can you leave it in, how do you take care of it, does it hurt to have treatment, etc. As usual, most of my questions have been answered by you lovely ladies. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge.

    Chris
  • MK_4Dani
    MK_4Dani Member Posts: 314
    #13
    I vote for the port.
    It makes blood work, receiving treatments so much easier and painfree. Seven years is a medical long time, I am sure the ports are better, installation procedures are more advanced. Go for it!
    Mary
  • NCEllen
    NCEllen Member Posts: 115
    #14
    lindaprocopio said:

    I was told that they only gave Doxil via a port.
    I was so SURE I was going to be CURED by my initial adjuvant carbo/taxol that I didn't get a port for those first 6 rounds of chemo. By the final 2 rounds my veins had already gotten so bad that they had to call in the IV team to get into a vein, and my hands would wswell up with baseball-sized swellings. When I recurred the 1st time, Doxil was being considered as my 2nd line chemo and where I go they only like to give Doxil via a port. So I had a port placed and WISH so MUCH that I had gotten a port from the very beginning. I LOVE my Power Port. Being constantly stuck with needles gets old VERY fast, and with a port, it's just punch-and-go for your labs, aqnd then once accessed, anything else you need to get that day can all go through your port. You're making the right decision.

    I'll tell you what my surgeon said when he placed my port, since I don't think this advice is universally given. He said that I should put on a bra the minute I get up and leave it on until I go to bed, to relieve that downward pull on your port from the weight of your breasts. This is especially true when your port is still new and somewhat tender. (Cup your hand under your breast on that side once you have your surgery and push it up and you'll see what I mean.) Shorten up your bra straps and hike 'the girls' up. I'm not particularly busty, but this really was a helpful hint. I continue to wear a good bra daily since I aqm boney where my port is and i don't want those 3 little nubs pushing through my skin. (I understand that Bard now makes a PowerPort without the nubs, so ask about that!) I even bought 2 sleep bras to wear to bed those first couple of weeks since that support did take the prssure off my port incision. The sleep bras have come in handy since then to wear for scans, since they have no metal fasteners or underwires and you can leave them on during the scan.

    Thanks for some great advice
    Linda- your advice about a well fitting bra was wonderful. I had my port placed yesterday, so today I was really sore. The bra did the trick helping to ease that 'pulling' pain. I love to find a nugget like that..I will get my first (starting 3rd round) treatment next Tuesday. From what I understand, put the Emla on about an hour before being stuck right? The trial I'm on will last all day the first day- so even with my new port I have to have blood drawn 4 times and two EKG's (part of the study). Still wishing for a pedicure lady to make the rounds! Anyway - thanks again for the great advice.. El
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #15
    NCEllen said:

    Thanks for some great advice
    Linda- your advice about a well fitting bra was wonderful. I had my port placed yesterday, so today I was really sore. The bra did the trick helping to ease that 'pulling' pain. I love to find a nugget like that..I will get my first (starting 3rd round) treatment next Tuesday. From what I understand, put the Emla on about an hour before being stuck right? The trial I'm on will last all day the first day- so even with my new port I have to have blood drawn 4 times and two EKG's (part of the study). Still wishing for a pedicure lady to make the rounds! Anyway - thanks again for the great advice.. El

    I have the numbing cream and
    I have the numbing cream and it works great I put it on 1 hour before and feel nothing when being poked for chemo or for blood draw my doctor wrote a script for it is lidocaine and prilocaine cream, 2.5%/2.5% I hope you can get it before your treatment you will love it.

    Anne
  • Barneygirl
    Barneygirl Member Posts: 90
    #16
    Since I'll be starting chemo
    Since I'll be starting chemo next week, I asked my doc if he was going to recommend me getting a port and he said no. Wants to try giving me the chemo through my arm veins as they look good and see how it goes. I was surprised he said this!
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member
    #17
    Barneygirl said:

    Since I'll be starting chemo
    Since I'll be starting chemo next week, I asked my doc if he was going to recommend me getting a port and he said no. Wants to try giving me the chemo through my arm veins as they look good and see how it goes. I was surprised he said this!

    Do you think maybe your
    Do you think maybe your doctor was worried because of your history of getting septic? Hopefully, you will do fine without the port.

    I was reading an article in the Townsend Letter about using heparin to heal burns because it promoted the growth of new blood vessels. My integrative doctor told me to only use saline to flush my port--not heparin but he never told me "why." Now I think I know why.
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #18
    carolenk said:

    Do you think maybe your
    Do you think maybe your doctor was worried because of your history of getting septic? Hopefully, you will do fine without the port.

    I was reading an article in the Townsend Letter about using heparin to heal burns because it promoted the growth of new blood vessels. My integrative doctor told me to only use saline to flush my port--not heparin but he never told me "why." Now I think I know why.

    carolenk
    They us heparin when I have blood work or chemo that is the last thing they do so not to have blood clots built up in my port.

    Anne
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #19
    Barneygirl said:

    Since I'll be starting chemo
    Since I'll be starting chemo next week, I asked my doc if he was going to recommend me getting a port and he said no. Wants to try giving me the chemo through my arm veins as they look good and see how it goes. I was surprised he said this!

    barneygirl
    Can you request the port to be put in?? I asked my doctor before I started Chemo is I could have a port because as he could see by the buries all over my arms that my vains are hard to get to and also hard to stay after they had been put in. He told me that sounded like a good ideal so he scheduled me to have one put in the morning of my first chemo treatment. it's worth asking again he can only say no again.

    Anne
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #20
    carolenk said:

    Do you think maybe your
    Do you think maybe your doctor was worried because of your history of getting septic? Hopefully, you will do fine without the port.

    I was reading an article in the Townsend Letter about using heparin to heal burns because it promoted the growth of new blood vessels. My integrative doctor told me to only use saline to flush my port--not heparin but he never told me "why." Now I think I know why.

    Wow Carolen
    This is scarey news. Do you know what issue that was in?
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member
    #21
    Tethys41 said:

    Wow Carolen
    This is scarey news. Do you know what issue that was in?

    Townsend Letter article
    The info about heparin promoting neoangiogenesis (the growth of new blood vessels) is in the Aug/Sept 2011 issue of the Townsend Letter. The article is all about how WONDERFUL heparin and something called "Pleo-Muc" are for treating burns and even frostbite. Sounds like a miracle cure--relieves pain and reduces scarring, too. Smoke inhalation was treated with nebulized heparin. Really interesting article written by Michael Gerber, MD (isn't he the guy who wrote the book, Vibrational Medicine?).

    When I worked in a chelation clinic (many years ago), heparin was added to the "recipe" along with EDTA and I never knew why. Now I am thinking that the heparin was there to increase collateral circulation--as everyone taking the EDTA chelation was there because of heart disease or poor circulation.

    I did have trouble with my port starting to clog up but the cath flo took care of that easily. I ONLY use saline for flushes--sometimes 20ml at a time. But no heparin for me.

    I think the practice of using heparin flushes for cancer patients should be the subject of clinical research. I have a feeling that flushing the port with heparin may not make a very big difference for people in remission. On the other hand, if someone is dealing with an aggressive active cancer, they are probably better off NOT using heparin to flush their port. Who knows? I would think that you would want to avoid something that promotes the growth of new blood vessels. Heparin is "anti-Avastin" therapy...maybe it would explain the cases where Avastin fails to acheive good results in some women.

    I am only speculating as to the undesired effects of heparin flushes as it is a very small amount of heparin in the flush. Nevertheless, I've seen homeopathic doses (highly diluted substances) bring amazing results.



    Carolen

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