Portacath

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meatie
Posts: 419
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:13 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Portacath

Postby meatie » Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:49 pm

How many days of hospital stay is needed after portacath installation surgery? How soon after portacath installation could chemotherapy start?
Last edited by meatie on Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mother DX @59 8/14
cln+lvr res 9/14, stage 4
FOLOX+Avs 12-rd 10/14 to 4/15
Reoccurrence, KRAS mutant 11/15
Folfiri 18-rds 11/15-8/16
FOLFIRI with Ramicirumab 28-rds 8/17-9/18
Regorafenib 10/18-10/19
Lonsurf 10/19 onward
Folfox rechallenge 05/20
Regonivo (Opdivo+Stivarga) 08/20
External Peace 09/12/2022

orcasres
Posts: 836
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 10:23 pm
Location: Orcas Island, WA

Re: Portacath

Postby orcasres » Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:52 pm

Chemo started five days after my port was installed. But I know of situations where the port was put in on the same day chemo started. Lois
63 yo F
Colon resection Sept. 2010
pT3N0M0 Stage 2A
Medullary Tumor 6.5cm long
Lymphovascular invasion
Lynch negative
12 FOLFOX 11/2010 to 5/2011 8 w/Oxi
NED so far

midlifemom
Posts: 1358
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:58 am
Location: NJ

Re: Portacath

Postby midlifemom » Fri Sep 19, 2014 10:04 pm

I started chemo about one or two hours after port was put in!
Stage 3 cc - dx Jan '14 age 53, cea 2.9
t2n2m0, KRAS mutant, MSS
Folfox Feb - Aug '14
Nov '14 cea 27.7 -2 liver masses
Dec '14 left lobectomy and HAI
Jan '15 FUDR and FOLFIRI
Aug '15 fudr done, liver clear, add avastin for lungs. Cea 4.3
Feb '16 CEA rising
May '16 2 wk break then drop Iri for 6 weeks.
Jul '16 cancer grew, constricted main bile duct. Stent inserted. On break till jaundice clears. CEA climbing. Doing reduced Folfox. Allergic to Oxali.
Sep'16 chemo failed. Trial or hospice?

Dori W
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:30 pm
Facebook Username: Dori Woodhouse

Re: Portacath

Postby Dori W » Fri Sep 19, 2014 10:07 pm

No hospital stay. It was an outpatient procedure.
Diagnosed stage 3C signet ring colon cancer in May, 2008
14 out of 18 positive lymph nodes
Final treatment in November, 2008
NED ever since
I used to have an account under "Dori," but I've lost access to it.
You can view my old posts here: search.php?author_id=1446&sr=posts

stars9979
Posts: 135
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 11:06 pm

Re: Portacath

Postby stars9979 » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:21 pm

outpatient. I think she got chemo a few days after.

I reccomend EMLA cream, it numbs the skin so all you feel is pressure, eliminates the pain of accessing the port. Although for some people its no biggie either way.
Caregiver to 54 y/o mom
Dx April 4 2014
Stage IV CC w mets to liver
Illeostomy (temp) 05/05/2014
6 rounds FOLFOX 05/14-08/14
Primary tumor/colon resection/I'll take down 10/27/14

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Bev G
Posts: 5856
Joined: Thu Jan 07, 2010 11:19 pm
Facebook Username: Bev Golde
Location: Quechee, VT

Re: Portacath

Postby Bev G » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:36 pm

Getting the port put in is usually a 1.5 to 2 hour outpatient procedure. After the first two times I forgot to put the numbing cream (EMLA) on, I just skipped it from then on. Accessing the port for most people doesn't really hurt. Many people get chemo the same day, as others have said.
58 yo Type1 DM 48 years
12/09 Stage IV 2/22 nodes + liver met, colon resec
3 tx FOLFIRI, liver resec 4/10
9/10 6 mos off chemo, Neg PET&CTC CEA nl
2/11 finished total 10 rounds chemo

9/13 ^17th clean PET/CT NED for now

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meatie
Posts: 419
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:13 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Portacath

Postby meatie » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:46 pm

So portacath surgery should be a piece of cake compared to colon+liver resection. That's good to hear. What kind of surgeon (general, heart, etc...) would do the procedure?

Now if we only find an oncologist first! We found a chinese-speaking oncologist that accepts my mom's insurance, but is out-of-network. What does that mean?

Also, setting up a consult with the oncologist is next to impossible. We called the office 10+ times the past two days, yet we kept getting told to leave a message with the "appointment specialist", with the said specialist never calling us back.
Mother DX @59 8/14
cln+lvr res 9/14, stage 4
FOLOX+Avs 12-rd 10/14 to 4/15
Reoccurrence, KRAS mutant 11/15
Folfiri 18-rds 11/15-8/16
FOLFIRI with Ramicirumab 28-rds 8/17-9/18
Regorafenib 10/18-10/19
Lonsurf 10/19 onward
Folfox rechallenge 05/20
Regonivo (Opdivo+Stivarga) 08/20
External Peace 09/12/2022

iitg.ritesh
Posts: 174
Joined: Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:11 am
Location: WA

Re: Portacath

Postby iitg.ritesh » Sat Sep 20, 2014 4:05 am

Our portacath surgery happened one day before chemo starting.
32yo Dx@rectal cancer 05/10/13, CEA 3.4
chemoradiation, xeloda finished on 02/12/13
LAR surgery 22/01/14, pT3N0, 0/3 nodes, folfox 02/14--06/14 , 8 cycles folfox, 4 cycles of xeloda
Stricture due to radiation, diversion colitis
Reversal 14/10/14
NED

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singingholly
Posts: 1133
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:37 am
Location: Northern Italy

Re: Portacath

Postby singingholly » Sat Sep 20, 2014 4:06 am

1 Day surgery. 2 Next day.
Dec2011 sigm IIIst res T3N1(2/18)M0 Xelox
Oct2012 5liv.mets Dec 2012 liv.res
Jan2013 1liv.met Folfiri+avastin
Jul2013 liv.res Folfiri+/av
Feb2014 10+2lu.mets & 1abd node Folfoxiri+SBRT
Sep2014 Res rx l. BUT spot on diaph:SBRT
Dec2014 3+6lu.mets.Immuno

midlifemom
Posts: 1358
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:58 am
Location: NJ

Re: Portacath

Postby midlifemom » Sat Sep 20, 2014 6:32 am

Meatie,
Out of network means you will pay more. Depending on your insurance plan there could be an extra deductible to be met or it could be higher copays or higher coinsurance amounts. You should call your insurance plan to understand the benefits for out of network services.
Regarding your difficulty making an appointment with the onc, what if you have the same difficulty reaching him/her when your mom is sick?
Stage 3 cc - dx Jan '14 age 53, cea 2.9
t2n2m0, KRAS mutant, MSS
Folfox Feb - Aug '14
Nov '14 cea 27.7 -2 liver masses
Dec '14 left lobectomy and HAI
Jan '15 FUDR and FOLFIRI
Aug '15 fudr done, liver clear, add avastin for lungs. Cea 4.3
Feb '16 CEA rising
May '16 2 wk break then drop Iri for 6 weeks.
Jul '16 cancer grew, constricted main bile duct. Stent inserted. On break till jaundice clears. CEA climbing. Doing reduced Folfox. Allergic to Oxali.
Sep'16 chemo failed. Trial or hospice?

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elise
Posts: 1519
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:09 pm
Location: Ontario (Canada)

Re: Portacath

Postby elise » Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:20 am

Putting it in was just a day thing. Chemo for me started a week later.

Everyone said it was easy peasy but I found my port to be a total pain in the ass until it was fully healed around 8 weeks. Be patient IF yours bugs you.

Elise
2012
Feb - Stage 2 (T3 N0 M0) CC @ 30
Mar - R hemicolectomy, 18 LN
May-Nov 6 - Chemo (8 Xeloda)
2013
Feb - NED
2014
Feb - NED
May - Stage 4 - 1 liver met @ 32
Jun - Liver resection
Oct - CLEAN SCAN
Aug-Jan - FOLFOX 5 rounds, 5FU X 6
2015
Ap, Oct - NED
2016
Mar - NED

KWT
Posts: 3214
Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 7:22 pm

Re: Portacath

Postby KWT » Sat Sep 20, 2014 9:49 am

You're in and out like a rabbit

nick49
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:18 am
Location: UK

Re: Portacath

Postby nick49 » Sat Sep 20, 2014 10:22 am

Hi,
I had my chemo start the day after my port was fitted.....so far so good...5 cycles and no port problems.

Regards
Nick
Diagnosed Stage IV Colon Cancer Aug 2013
Metastatic adenocarcinoma of ascending colon.
Distant Lymph Nodes
49. Male.
Chemo - August 2013 for 10 cycles.
Kras Mutation.
July 2014 - Started Zaltrap/Folfiri - 8 cycles completed.
http://www.nickjparry.co.uk

Nicolouna
Posts: 39
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 6:30 pm

Re: Portacath

Postby Nicolouna » Sat Sep 20, 2014 10:32 am

Portacath was inserted in interventional radiology under local sedation as an outpatient. Received chemo right after and went home that same day.
Dx @ 27yo, female w colon cancer (T4N0M0)
Aug 2013: R hemicolectomy
FOLFOX: Oct 2013-April 2014, NED
May 2016: had a baby ❤️
June 2017: L ovary met, surgical removal
July 2017: pancreatic met
Aug 2017: FOLFIRI
Dec 2017: Whipple’s. 1/36 nodes+
May 2018: 12 FOLFIRI done, NED
Sept 2018: abnormal cyst R ovary - surgery, no cancer (false alarm)
Dec 2019: abdo wall met, resected, clear margins
Oct 2020: new primary colon ca (T4N0), partial colectomy
Nov 2020: XELOX reaction, converted to FOLFOX

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mstults
Posts: 1327
Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:23 am

Re: Portacath

Postby mstults » Sun Sep 21, 2014 1:19 pm

Less than an hour under IV sedation. Went straight from procedure to infusion. If you do it the same day they can put the needle in and you won't have to deal with the soreness and accessing. I was only sore a couple days. I've had 2 and both were about the same.
Male Age 53. Dx CC with numerous liver mets 6/23/12. Colon res 6/24/12. Started folfox 7/24/12. Added avastin 8/27/12. CT 12/27/12 still showing shrink. Took 17 rounds of FOLFOX. Then 5-FU + Avastin. Switched to Irinotecan for 1 yr. CEA rose to >400. Switched to Vectibix 2/18/15. CEA decreasing. Scans show some growth in liver mets. Lung Mets stable to shrinking.

https://www.facebook.com/michael.stults2/about?ref=home_edit_profile&section=work


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