Port Installation

Writing this post haste for a friend of friend who is wondering about this procedure.

The week before I began chemo treatments, I had a port surgically installed. A port is a device installed inside your body that allows what I've come to think of as main-veining directly into the bloodstream to avoid deterioration, burns and other ugliness that might come with all the puncturing that comes with chemo treatments and the many blood draws. Medication can be administered as well as blood drawn through a port. Mine was installed in the upper portion of my chest below my collar bone.

The surgery that I had to install the port was brief. They wheeled me in on a stretcher after giving me a local numbing injections. I was awake for the entire operation. There was pain, there was blood.  There are many detailed descriptions of this on line. I look for a good one and post it.

It was worth it to have this done.

The port I have is called a dignity port because it's supposedly buried deeply enough in the skin that it's not visible. I can always see mine. I notice people glancing at it, trying not to star if I wear clothing that reveals that part of my chest. No one was ever brave enough to ask me about it.

In the aftermath of the port, I am glad that I have it. It saved me being used as a pin cushion. It prevented blowing my veins.

Please be warned that anyone with a port needs to be insistant that it be used or you will find yourself still being punctured in the arm. Just say NO! Insist that they use the port. Only a nurse can access your port.  Phlebotomists are not trained to use a port. All nurses are not experienced with accessing a port and sometimes it can be a problem. When I was admitted to WCA (a local hospital) the first nurse to try (sans numbing cream) didn't quite get it or didn't think he had and another nurse was called in. Ports are a new thing for many nurses who are not used to cancer patients.

Even though I had my port accessed, the blood suckers would come in the very early hours of the morning to try and draw my blood while I was sleep during my stay at WCA. I almost let them do it once because I was so sound asleep but I managed to wake up and fend them off. After that I wrote "NO" on my the crease of both my arms with a black sharpie.

When I was going through my treatments at Rosewell, they would often schedule me to go to the Phlebotomists before hand. I had to refuse that appointment and arrive early at the oncologist, because they would forget to schedule me properly as a patient who had a port. There was no way I was going to let them puncture my veins when I had the port. I had the port installed for a reason and they were going to use it.

One note, I'm not sure about this and I can't find the reference but I remember reading that it's better to have the port on the opposite side of the heart, in the right side of the chest rather than the left. I can't remember why. I had mine on the left side, opposite the side of my breast cancer which is what was recommended. I'm not sure why. That, I need to research further. This is something to take note of. I write that for anyone who might be about to go for and has gone for the same and is reading this.

I'm glad I had the port installed. I know it saved me a lot of grief. Ports save veins. The chemicals used in chemo can cause burns and reactions in the arms. Veins get chewed up.

They say you won't even know you have it. This is not true. I am always aware of my port and it lends itself to me being more cautious with that part of my body. I have a fear of being bumped into, hugged too hard or falling. Having an active young child who is very physical is cause for some of this concern. The area where the port is installed is sensitive. It feels tight sometimes and I can feel it.

What I am told is very expensive numbing cream they gave me to put on an hour before hand, I don't know if it made a difference. What made the most difference was the skill of the nurse using the port, some nurse were so good it was nothing and others not so much. There were several times when I was in situations where I didn't know in advance (hospital and emergency visits) that they would access my port so I had no time to put on the cream.

I was told by some of the nurses that people who are thinner tend to be more sensitive with the port. That made be feel good because I'm not that thin but if anyone thinks I am then I am going be happy to hear that.