Hello All!!!!

Hi Chriss.  Sorry that you find yourself joining us.

I had a portacath and it helped heaps.  My veins are very weak and it was recommended to me to get the port.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone due to the convenience.

The only down side for me personally is that hugging my kids is sometimes painful when their heads press on the port on my chest!  and I sometimes accidentally scratch my chest and that is a bit sensitive but nothing major.

When treatment finishes and you wish to keep the port for a few months or untill it gets removed, they will need to flush it every 6 to 8 weeks and that does not take long at all. 

I will probably have mine taken out when my reconstruction surgery is done later in 2016.

Hope this helps

Hi Chrissk

I was diagnosed in Jan 15 with grade 3 5 cm tumour Her2, ER and PR negative. Underwent chemo to reduce the size before surgery and had mascetomy with reconstruction at the same time. 25 radiations and now having Herceptin every 3 weeks till Jan 16. After surgery, they found that I am ER and PR positive and HER2 negative. Apparently the chemo worked very well for my HER 2 but not too sure why the the ER and PR changed from the initial diagnose. So I too may have to take those horrible drug for 5 years. I will find out when I see my oncologist next week.

About your question, port or catheter, it depends how good your vein is. Besides having the injection for 12 months, they had a very hard time trying to locate and insert  the in my vein. I ended up with a big bruise and burnt from chemo on my first day. I ended up with a port and it made the nurse and my chemo so easy to administer and less painful. The chemo nurse can advise the pros and cons.

Hi again

Re what comes first, chemo or a mastectomy, I regret I don't know the answer, only that there are different approaches. I assume it may depend on the aggressiveness/size/nature/location of the tumour - chemo is is often used to shrink a tumour before surgery, as far as I know, which may have beneficial effects depending on location..Best to ask your oncologist, as the right answer will be particular to you.

Good luck.

Hi welcome to the site. Everyones treatment can be so different. I had chemo before my mastectomy and I know others who had it after depends on your treatment plan. Take care and one day at a time and accept any help offeredxx

Hi Holly1981, and thank you so much for your advise. I have to have 4 x AC once every 3 weeks and then 12 x T once a week.  I have opted for now to see how I go with the catheter and if it gets too much for my veins I'll see my other options.

Will look into the nail polish... thank you so much!

Thank you.....

I'm having exactly the same treatment as you in regards to AC and T.  But my specialist recommended chemo first then mastectomy.  Is there a difference what happens first?

Yes all too much at first but getting to learn quote a lot along the way.

Thank you Kim, I'm having AC once every 3 weeks x 4 and then T every week x 12....  Yes I have opted for now to do the catheter and see how we go.  Thank you for the nail advise though you don't really think of those little things when dealing with BC.

Good luck with rad.

Chriss

Hi Chrissk

I am new here too. Diagnosed with grade 3 stage 1 invasive cancer with very weak receptor ER+1, PR+1 and HER2- in June this year. I have just finished 4 rounds of chemo every 3 weeks, (docetaxyl and cyclophosphamide). It might depend on how many rounds of chemo you need to have. I had cannulas for my first two rounds but had bad reaction to the cyclo which burnt and damaged my veins so had a picc line put in that stayed for the next two rounds. The picc was painless  and other than being a bit annoying to shower with and needing to be flushed each week was not as invasive as getting a port put in. Might be a good option to look at for you if you are worried about your veins, maybe try the cannulas first and if you get no reaction and your veins can cope then great! No picc or port needed.

Not sure if it helps but I also used a nail polish called 'horsepower' nail fortifier from the 'Essential Luxuries for Cancer' website before I started chemo and my nails did not split/peel/lift or fall out! Awesome.

Best of luck with your treatment :)

Good luck :)

Hi Chrissk

Good luck, it's all a bit much to take in at first.

I had a mastectomy (one lymph node positive out of 17) then 4 cycles of A/C (3 weekly) and then 12 cycles of Taxol weekly. Had a catheter all the time. Veins started out really well but decided to run away quite a lot towards the end!  Staff were great - warm packs, even an arm bath will help. No-one actually suggested a port, and I wasn't mad keen - had a colleague who had some trouble keeping hers in place through treatment, but I saw lots of people during treatment who did have a port, and seemed fine about it. Chemo unit staff are usually great about general information - not about your treatment specifically but about what they observe, reactions etc. I found them really helpful about lots of things including side effects.

Keep your eyes on your arm re any fluid - you have probably been advised about exercise and cording, keep it up as there is always a bit of a risk when lymph nodes have been removed.

Best wishes, keep positive, count down the treatments and truly they will pass. 

Hello Chrissk,

sorry you are here but it is a good place to come for support and advice.

I have had similar to you, IDC stage 3, 2.3cm tumor, same receptors. I had TC chemo four rounds, 3week cycle. For me the side effects where different and worst every cycle. Your question about port or catheter would depend on length of cycles and how many you are up for. I had a catheter put in each time, really no problem, I made sure I was very hydrated before hand. Some nurses are better at putting it in then others but I got to know which veins where best and advise them. What a steep learning curve of medical terms and your own body! 

I am sure you will receive good advice from your medical team. I feel cold mitts on my hands preserved my nails ( which I have keep covered with dark nail polish) and I only had minor numbness in my fingers. My feet on the other hand were ignored in this respect and on 3rd round became hot red and painfull. When this happened I soaked them in cold water which helped me though the 4th round which had to be reduced, they are peeling now but I think if I had done the cold treatment earlier they would not have become so bad.

I had first rad today and am on Tamoxifen, the next adventure! ha, but life is still good.

Hope this is some help, all the best with treatment.

Kim