Oncologist

Hi Eileen,

i had exactly the same chemo plan but did not have the port put in. Towards the end of my treatment, it became very hard to find good veins, which meant sometimes it would take 2 or 3 goes depending on the nurse. along with the blood taking before each one, in hindsight it probably would have been better to have a port. Good Luck with your treatment,

Wendy xx

Hi Eileen

I had a port put in on 22 January and while initially I had a few unexpected hiccups, I am so glad I did!!!!!  Most of the women in my chemo unit have ports.

The operation was really easy. I did have some discomfit afterwards - it was painful to sleep on my side for a week and it was uncomfortable to turn my head, also had to take panadeine fort for a few bad headaches - but once everything settled down after a short period it was great. I can't feel any of the needles going in for treatment and so much less painful than all the attempts it took to get a cannula in a vein. My port has become blocked twice. One time they did a line-ograph on me and unblocked it straight away. Another time they gave me an injection which unblocked it - but both these times it was really easy to unblock and I didn't feel anything. Now I don't notice it at all. 

Just a note, if you are going to get blood samples from it the regular pathology labs don't have the training to get blood that way. I get my blood taken at my chemo unit since they are trained to do this through ports. 

Hope it goes well

Take care, Nadine