Porta Cath

Hi Wendy, As you can gather I call mine Penny.  She is a bit of a b....... but I have learned to live with her.  I had surgery on my left side and she is on my right side.  I had her inserted 2.5 weeks after I finished radiation therapy and the day before I commenced chemo.  I have a blood disorder so my surgeon put me in hospital to have it inserted.  I had a general - bit gorey to have a local.  It is inserted pretty deep into your tissue.  It is nearly eight weeks since I had the insertion and I still have yellow bruising.  I'm a bit of an unusual case though.  At first it was a bit hard to sleep - one side very tender from radiation and the other extremely bruised and sore from portacath insertion.  I learnt to sleep on my back.  I hope I snored to compete with my hubby.!!!  When I have chemo I feel so pleased that I have it when I see some others having struggles with veins.  My veins are shocking and I cringe every time I need to give blood.  One thing my surgeon stressed to me was "Don't let any Tom, Dick or Harry access your portacath"  In other words only the experts - oncology nurses etc.  I had to go into hospital after my first chemo and it was the oncology nurse who was called in to acces the port for the antibiotics drips.  When the oncology nurse accesses it for chemo, it doesn't hurt and it is much easier for them.  Good luck XLeonie