Emla really is great. You can buy it at the chemist but it's expensive - the day oncology where I have my 6-weekly port flushes give you either a little tube of it, or a patch, if you ask for it, & it's free.
I find that the cream works better than the patches for me, there is absolutely NO sensation at all. I think it says in the info pamphlet for it that it only has to be put on 20min before the procedure, but you can leave it on for 4 hours max, I find that 2 hrs is perfect, but 1hr will do.
I think everyone is different, you can try it on a little patch of your skin & just lightly scratch over the top with a paperclip or something to test how long you need.
Ha, I sound like a drug rep or something, no, I don't work for Emla! It has just saved me so much stress through all this. Cancer is bad enough, without freaking out over needles.
For me, chemo wasn't as bad as I had imagined, of course I had imagined all the worst case scenarios but I actually had so few side effects that sometimes I wondered if it was working! It's not a walk in the park, but I think most ladies on here will say that it's doable. Just remember that if you do have side effects, tell the oncologist or nurses straight away because they probably have medication to fix it, or they can tweak your chemo recipe a bit for the next batch. This site is also a great resource for hints and little extra ways to get through.
It's always better to get it over with! The waiting is the worst!