Lobular carcinoma first chemotherapy today

So today was first chemo 
Mild anxiety last night - reminded myself I’ve seen babies given the same drugs I can handle it if they can.

Met with Onc went well, I liked that I clarified intent is to cure and that cure is possible. I’ve never actually asked that, only about survival rates etc and lots of other detailed questions 

But then it takes 5 attempts and over an hour of cannulating to get a very small vein on the side of my arm.
So I asked again about a port (I asked pre chemo and was told too high risk for 8 cycles)
theyve agreed for a port woo hoo!! 

Oh yay. If I hadn't been offered one at my first med onc appointment, I  would have asked for one. But the onc kinda looked at my arms and got in before I did,  lol. The only good thing that oncologist did for me! Accepted my care, admittedly as a public patient,  at at the end of that appointment .... oh, by the way, I'm off on 3 months long service leave, you won't see me again until you've finished treatment.
I now have a different medical oncologist 

Oh that is good news. I have always had difficult veins. As I had TC I wasn't offered a port, but after two operations, four rounds of chemo and all the associated blood tests, and then a BMX & recon, my veins are buggered. Too much scarring one phlebotomist said before giving up and sending in her senior. Yesterday, my oestradiol blood test, the poor guy really struggled. A port will make things a lot easier @youngdogmum. One for the win column I reckon!

I felt so bad the poor nurses cannulating and sensing my feelings about it. I said so many times I’m not angry at you I’m angry at myself for not pushing a port further! 
I of all people understood the risks of a port and decided to be the patient and not the nurse. 
But there is no way I’m ruining the small flat veins I have and being cannulated for over an hour each fortnight!!! They wanted to do a PICC due to less time needed, but I feel more comfortable about a port. 

Heres to us knowing our bodies and saying what we need to make this life with breast cancer as good as possible. 

@youngdogmum, it really changes your perspective,  being on the other side of the fence. It's made me so aware of my responsibilities as a health care consumer, and my rights. It's also strengthened my belief in the need to be my own advocate

All things I thought I had a handle on before, but........ no

@youngdogmum. The only time I  have been really upset since I  found out I have Mets was when I was about to get a port. The procedure had been arranged. I even had a time to present at the hospital.
However,  I  changed my mind. 
There was only one nurse capable of inserting a cannula into my arm without multiple attempts when I  was  having my 15 lots of I.V. chemo. One day, I  had three nurses try to insert a cannula.
I am so pleased I did not have a port.
Blood is not collected through a port.
I am still having very regular blood tests.

I wouldn't say that I liked my port but, after a bit of a rocky start with it, I was extremely thankful to have followed the advice of the onc and the chemo nurses, and to have had the info from the wonderful people on this site to make the decision to go ahead.  When I had my chemo treatments, having blood taken and then the drugs infused was straightforward and fast compared to those who didn't have a port - no struggling to find veins each time.  I still have a scar from it but it is shrinking and fading (I think I had it out in October or November last year).

@"Patti J" The new generation ports can have blood taken (I believe the older ones were only for drugs going in).

@"Patti J" We all have our own path and what not, that’s fantastic you decided against and felt comfortable with it :) 
Hopefully mine can be removed shortly after chemo.. 

I’m looking at this from a very specific perspective though - I used to insert 15-20 cannulas a day, I know how hard it can be to get. I know the very high dose sense chemo they’re giving me will ruin what few veins I have on that one available arm. I’ve seen the other side too of things gone wrong with all types of CVL’s so I don’t enter this lightly. 
My hospital has a blood department that can do port sampling, obviously this will not be available everywhere but I’m hoping for at least my cycle bloods this can be don’t that way... if not a venepuncture for two tubes is much easier than getting a line in a difficult vein. 
I just don’t want this to be repeated every fortnight and then have them say sorry no veins available no chemo today.
Also in my personal experience having a port makes a nurse much more cautious and careful. Just my humble opinion :) 

You are a force of nature @youngdogmum ! Good plan with the port, I did chemo without one in 2006 and it absolutely rooted my veins and stressed everyone out. My last infusion they had to call one of the paramedics who was known as 'Magic' up to get a line in. I had months of phlebitis which phlebbed all the way up my arm...what a shit fight. 
2016, I chemoed like a pro and got a port in. It wasn't the best behaved port, but it worked when I most needed it.
Keep up the good work. Mxx

My port is in - thank f*** :p
I ended up in ED Wednesday thought I may have a bit of an infection brewing - I didn't yippeee but thought best be safe than sorry with sepsis. Took three goes just to get blood not even a cannula! And then the following day was my port insertion, nightmare. Three attempts at cannulation and then I ended up saying the interventional radiologist can put it in with ultrasound thanks or Im not having one at all and you can sedate me another way.
Heres hoping it goes smoothly for the next 3.5 months of remaining chemo !!!