TinaFish wrote:More on the subject of the chemo port: it's feeling sore. And I don't think that has anything to do with the fact that it was accessed yesterday, because it's been feeling sore for a few days. Maybe it's just a psychosomatic thing because I was worried about the little accident that I had with it. I just can't forget it's there. It's always tender and I worry when someone gives me a hug. And looking at diagrams on the internet, WTF? Its tube goes into a vein in my neck, and then the tube continues into my heart?? How is that safe? These nasty chemo meds are going directly into my heart, and that's ok? How could that possibly be ok?? Would it be totally stupid to ask them to access my arm veins instead of my port? Maybe so I can see what the difference is, and possibly have the port taken out? It's really making me feel uncomfortable. And every time I look in the mirror and change my clothes, I'm reminded that I have cancer. I don't want that reminder... although the scar will always be there, even if the port is removed. Ugh. Even if I get a trashy chest tattoo over it in the future, the tattoo will be a reminder. I think all I can do is go to a really great plastic surgeon for a scar revision. It's not about vanity; it's about peace of mind.
People have such different feelings about their ports!
Some patients love them and feel like they are the cat's pajamas! There's no need to get a peripheral cannula, it can be used for contrast during CT and MRI scans, it requires only a single access for everything (unlike IV access, which generally requires two venipunctures; one for lab draws and then the IV access for treatment), and it saves your veins. It's that last part you need to focus on.
Some chemo, especially the nastier varieties like Oxaliplatin, can do a number on your veins. They can cause serious, sometimes permanent, damage if they come in contact with your tissue. This is called "extravasation," and it can occur much more easily with IV access, but is very rare with a
port. Also, the
port access site is prepared with a
sterile technique; IV access is a
clean technique, which makes ports ultimately safer.
When I was first diagnosed, I was pretty anti-
port. It just seemed like an unnecessary sign/reminder of an already bad situation. The nurse examined my small veins and delicate skin and said I really should get one based on what she'd seen happen to other patients who had oxaliplatin through IV access. She described the hard and/or sclerosed veins she saw and how hard to was to find new places to access after the damage was done.
Oh, and about the heart thing. Ports do not end with the tip of the catheter inside the heart. The tip of the catheter is located either in the superior vena cava or at the atriocaval junction, which is where the vein
meets the heart, not actually
in the heart itself.
Yeah, I agree it's kind of funky looking. I have very fair skin and I have a PowerPort (which is purple), so there is a purple lump that shows when I wear certain tank tops, etc. And I've had my fair share of weird conversations with TSA agents when they patted me down. (Someone needs to educate TSA agents about cancer patients' various medical devices - ports, catheters, implanted pumps, etc.
) I'm actually due to have my
port removed soon, so I'll have a small scar there instead. But the good part is my veins still look and act the same, even after all the chemo I've had.
I realize you're entitled to your opinion, but try to think of this tiny piece of technology as an aid to getting you through this. If, in the distant future, I ever have grandchildren who notice my
port scar (or my abdominal or lung surgery scars), I plan to tell them I got it during a knife fight in a bar in Outer Mongolia!
Life is what you make it.
Juliej
But by all means continue to vent here rather than acting on these impulses. And I say that fondly! 
