Port Removal - What's it like?
Comments
-
My port never gave me a minute of trouble. It was put in and 2 days later I was getting chemo. During treatment I always used it. And once I discovered the topical cream and spray, I never felt anything. During year 2 & 3 the scar from insertion became undetectable and even the port itself seemed less visible. So I was really uninhibited. I started wearing spaghetti straps and tank tops and thought absolutely nothing about it.
I have a fear of needles and I have very sensitive skin with bad veins, so I feel even the slightest rub against my skin as somewhat painful. At the dentist I have to take a valium to get gas, prior to the novicaine and the dentist only has a 25-35 window of time, because my adrenaline is so high, it overrides the numbing meds.
with my port, I ran, I took boot camp and kick boxing classes and Ilifted weights. I did push ups and ab crunches and wore a 20lb weight vest during workouts. I even sleep on my stomach. There was absolutely nothing I couldn't do with it. It felt like an ear or nose. I didn't even notice it until I was thinking about it. My port was my friend. It made drawing blood an experience like I had never felt before. Very easy and pain free.
0 -
Wow, thanks for sharing Kim. I think I will be afraid of taking my port out for many reasons. I'm glad that it didn't bother you at all.
0 -
The port removal is a breeze. It's out in a few seconds. I had herceptin also and had to have the port in for awhile. It was more inconvenient than painful but I did have skin reactions to the tape holding it on and I itched like crazy. You might get a little sore after such a long time but it's not bad and worth it versus having an IV put in every time.
0 -
Letlet, how come you need to have Herceptin for so long?
I had my port removed yesterday, I didn't have any problem with it other than it showed so much and I want to be able to dress in nice tops and dresses during the summer.
Another reason is also that I feel like I'm in more control to have it out, to keep it would just make me feel like I'm waiting for it to be used again...I want this decisive to be over with!! Well, I know it will always be on my mind, but I don't need something sticking out from my body to remind me.
I still have to do Herceptin for the rest of the year, but I was told they can do it without the port.
I had local and they also gave me some "twilight stuff", I was only awake for a couple of seconds and I didn't feel anything.
I was a little bit sore yesterday so I took one of the pills I had leftover from my lumpectomy, today I have no pain at all.
0 -
I'm also am having my port out on June 1, 2011 and am concered myself at the removal. I want to be knocked out completely because the 'twilight sleep" doesn't do a thing for me. When I first had it put in, it wasn't bad but I heard the removal is harder. My chemo is over, have a clean scan last week so having it out right away because I believe it closes the drama I have been living. I was diagnosised with Ovarian cancer Stage 4 which included my colon & chest lynph nodes, Dec 11,2010. I have been very positive to get where I'm am today, like all of us survivors but I too just want to know really how it feels. Thanks for all your comments. God Bless Us All!
0 -
It was done in her office, I felt a slight tugging and then it was over. Uneventful and painless. Took maybe 5 minutes.
0 -
Hi, My name is Melissa
I have never had cancer but my fiance had cancer and is now getting his port out and i was freaking out how they do it and did some reasearch and found this forum...All your posts made me feel a lot better about him getting it removed.
My fiance and I weren't together during the time of his cancer...It is is sort funny how I discovered his port as he never told me about it or showed me...He took is shirt off infront of me and i seen this round thing on his chest...and i was like :O OMG! what is that? why do you have button in your chest?...and he laughed and said it's my port that is how they injected the medicine for his cancer and explained that it goes to his heart and his heart pumped the medicine through his body equally.
So for 2 yrs i got used to it and knew one day he would have to get it out and the time has now come he gets it out in 2 weeks from now...I'm happy in a way that he is taking it out...it means the Dr, is certin he is all clear and safe to have it removed....But it still freaks me out a little bit about the whole procedure and the safe removal of it.
My fiance had Sarcoma at age 20...him and I are going to be 24 this october...and we plan on getting married in a couple years and plan to have children...He has such an amazing perspective on life...he lives for today and not what might happen, Which is my problem...i worry constantly about him...he is also epileptic and has had a seizure with me when we dated back in high school...But i've gotten use to the fact that all his medication is better then it was before and that he is healthier and safer then he has ever been...I still live in slight fear about something bad happening to my love but he has helped me think more about what i have right now...and not what could possibly happen later or the next day.= ) Anyways Thank you all
0 -
Hi, Everyone! I had a bilateral mastectomy in 2002. My Bard port has been with me since then!!! It has been no trouble whatsoever.
Chemo was followed with radiation and 5 years of Tamoxifen. I can relate to so many of the comments in this forum. Even though I've been told the port is a foreign body within my system, it has been a "friend", making chemo and other procedures easier, as I have smallish/harder to access veins. Next year, I'll have been cancer-free for 10 years. Think it's time for me to get the ol' port removed???
I think I've harbored a few skewed ideas as to why I needed to keep it... probably superstitions... but, the reasons somehow gave me comfort. Now, I like the idea of being independent of it and to not need a port flush every 4 to 6 weeks. Thank you to all who posted here. It's giving me additional courage to go ahead with port removal. Blessings to you all... peace, love, happiness and HEALTH!0 -
I had my port removed on July 29, 2011. I had to go back to have them check it. I have a hard place where the port was about the size of a quarter or a little bit bigger, it is a hematoma or blood clot. It is putting pressure on the nerve in my arm and causing alot of pain. I have to not do much with my arm and have to elevate it above my heart. They are hoping that it will dissolve on its own. I can;t lift anything over 10 lbs. It feels like bees are stinging me in the area between by elbow and the place where the port was. I have to call the port patient care person in a week and let her know how it is feeling. I hope it dissolves on it's own I don't want to have any more surgery. Putting the port in and during the year and 2 months I never had a bit of trouble with it.
0 -
I was under a general for both insertion and removal of my port. It went in the end of March 2009, then came out in May 2011 while I was already under for a BMX.
I'm one of those "sissies" whose tolerance of pain can be measured in the negative numbers. Locals just don't cut it for me. And even when I had the port, I had to have it numbed prior to chemo infusion and monthly maintenance flushing (while I had it post chemo prior to removal).
0 -
I had my port removed after three years three weeks ago (I think) - it took about 10 minutes and didn't hurt at all it was taken out with just a "freezing" shot - I had dissolving stitches and they are gone and there was no pain just a little bruising - I took an ativan prior to arriving at the day surgery because I am a huge chicken.
0 -
My mom was diagnosed for bilateral breast cancer in oct, 2009. My mom was inserted for chemo port in October 2009. About 40-45 days ago she started developing swelling in both hands. About 2 weeks back when she went for chemo port flushing, there was no backflow of blood. Appeared that the port was not functioning. Went for Doppler test but no blood clot was found. The doctor who operated upon her for removal of port told her that her port was badly stuck in her artery and he had a lot of difficulty in removing the port. Told her he had never operated upon for such a port removal before in his whole career. He had also told us before operation that malfunction of port might lead to swelling in one or both hands. Her port had been removed but the swelling refuses to go from her hands. Has anyone faced something similar with chemo port before ?
0 -
Very easy -- the area was numbed with lidocaine (I think) and it was out within minutes. No pain at all. I can't recall stitches but remember a small bandage and easy healing.
0 -
Just had my port removed on Friday. Piece of cake. Went in put on a gown, got the I.V. hooked up. Other than having to wait for 3 hours, everything went well. A doctor of radiology did the removal in the flouroscopy room. He was great and so were the nurses. I also had a bit of the that 'twilight anaesthetic', not much, plus a local, which stings a little. I didn't feel a thing though. I went back to recover and was out of there in no time. We were joking around during the procedure and all is well. A little tender around the area over night, but not bad. They gave me a few extra bandages and a couple of shower bandages and sent me home. I had the Her2 breast cancer and went through chemo & radiation first, then a lumpectomy. Took a number of Herceptin infusions from December 2010 to October 2011, but had to quit them because the drug was affecting my heart muscle. My ejection fraction was down 10% from 52% to between 40 & 45%, so I thought it best to quit and the onc agreed. Hopefully my heart will eventually get back to normal. If anyone out there is having Herceptin, be sure that they are giving you echocardiograms every 3 infusions to be sure it isn't affecting your heart. Unfortunately for me, they didn't let me know until after 2 more infusions that the ejection fraction was down. Someone goofed and forgot to view the report prior to filing. You have to be your own advocate out there, so don't forget to keep an eye on things. It's great to be a survivor though, and I'm greatful for all the help that the medical community gave me. Getting my port out is the last step toward normalcy and it's a great Christmas present. Remember though, anyone that questions the western medicine approach, you do have a choice of alternatives and/or integrated medicine is out there. You just have to find it. Go to You Tube and find: 'Burzynski, The Movie'..... very interesting. My blessings to all who are going through a cancer diagnosis. Stay positive and have faith.0
-
Hi HDOWNH and everybody else here!
This was a helpful forum to me becuz I just had my port removed yesterday, Dec. 13, just a few days after you HDOWNH. Amazing, this thread was begun three years ago, and folks keep coming on here and putting down their situations with the chemo port. So, I'll add mine.
It took place at the same cancer clinic I've been going to since all this cancer routine started, so this was the last show, other than continuing doc visits. I was TERRIFIED to go have this done, stomach upset for three days, and so I was so relieved when it was over, I cried after the doc told me, "You are now port free." The shots to numb it did not hurt, the tiny incision did not hurt, and I had no idea when the thing was out until the doc informed me. I did not have any kind of anesthesia at all, I was wide awake. I asked for pain medicines as my pain tolerance is not what it once was, they said no. But today I wish I had them. However, I do take other pain drugs for my other disorders and syndromes, so it's not as bad as it could be. Still, it is QUITE sore.
What they did was put a clearish tape right over the incision to stay one week, and then a wad of gauze pads held in place by giant tape, they said I could take that "compression bandage" off in 24 hours, not to do anything forceful with that arm for a couple days. But that tape would not stay stuck down, so not much compression, and loose tape was very annoying, and I finally changed it first thing this morning and put a much smaller bandage in its place. As for not using that arm, when I left the center I opened the very heavy door with my surgery side! I think I felt it bleed a little. When I took off the bandage, it had indeed bled just a tiny bit, but that incision tape did not appear to have moved at all.
For those who posed the question how did they keep the blood vessels from bleeding, the doc will hold down the ends after they pull the port out, and within seconds it clots by itself. I had a physician and nurse with me when this was done, had been told a doc assist would do it which is part of why I was afraid to have this done, so I was relieved one of the center's docs did it! So, now I just rest and protect that wound area, put up with the soreness, curse "the war on drugs," however helpful it might be for that serious problem, but I do not see why REAL patients cannot have something extra for when the body is cut open, for crying out loud!
So, I will say to anyone who has recently had their port put in, and wind up reading about what will happen when it comes out, and you are ever given pain drugs during your long cancer treatments, set aside a few pills for when the port is removed. I should have had mine out before rads, but doc and I both forgot, so was glad to get it out now! I also have had some discomfort with the port for the last six weeks or so, so I hope that will go away now that it's gone.
0 -
Thank you for the information. I am having my port removed tomorrow and I am frightened.
God bless all of you for sharing your stories. Know that you have helped someone.
0 -
kabr, it's good to know that others' experiences in this forum helped you face your port removal with a little less fear! Please do come back and let us know how it goes.
Judith and the Mods
0 -
Doesn't look like this is a popular thread, but I'll post anyway. Getting my port removed a week from today. I had bruising that lasted over a month after it was put in, hope that doesn't happen when it's removed.0 -
Well I was 18 when I married my wife and 6 weeks after marriage I found out I had Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer. I had a port put in because of my veins being so skinny. I went for 6 months of chemotherapy and then 15 radiation visits. The doctor told me that he wanted me to keep the port in longer just in case the cancer comes back and we wouldn't have to put the port back in. So, I agreed. I went to visit my doctor 2 weeks ago and he told me that I can remove my port because Cancer was no longer a threat to me. So it is 4:32 AM and I am scheduled to have the port removed at 1:00 PM less then 9 hours from now. I have been on the internet trying to find out if this "procedure" is scary or not. Thanks to this post I now am much more comforted and can't wait to get this behind me.
I thank God for using me for His glory and bringing Healing to me and my family.
It was only His Word that kept me strong and without Him or His Word I wouldn't be able to overcome this.
Thanks to everyone who posts for the help. They helped me so much that I made an account just so I can reply to you. I know it's been a while since u had your port removed and just wanted to let you know that you really helped me a lot. Thanks
0 -
Hi all, I was diagnosed and treated 2 years ago, and I am hoping to get my port removed soon. I am having a little trouble finding info about how exactly the port is removed from my neck area.
I have a chest port, but there is an incision in my neck as well. Do they remove it from the chest and pull it out from there (hence the 'tugging'?). I am a big chicken where pain and surgery go, so I am just trying to understand that bit, as the thought of having someone cut into my neck while I am awake is inducing a bit of hershey squirts (humor is a good side effect of all of this trauma). Any help is appreciated. Thanks all.
0 -
Hi boobzilla, I had a port in my chest with the tubing connecting to my neck. I had my port removed in Feb of this year. They make an incision over the port to remove the port and tubing. It was a 30 min procedure, no pain afterward just soreness. You can go on YouTube and watch it being done. The only problem I had was it left an ugly keloid, my doc referred me to a plastic surgeon to have it removed. Well the scar is gone but know my skin is discolored from the steroid injection. I kind of wish I never got the port its a reminder that stares me in the face everyday and now I have to be concerned about wearing certain tops. Hope you have better luck once your is removed.
0 -
Hey guys, I was in July 2012 cohort and just wanted to chime back in as I had my port out today. I was very worried and anxious about it as I would not be totally out. But as it turns I did fall asleep (twilight sedation)and suddenly I was back patched up and ready to go upstairs. This was no big deal at all, and I suffer from anticipatory anxiety, so that's definitely saying something. If anyone has any questions please pm. This was honestly a piece of cake-am a little sore and super tired still from this morning (surgery ended at 10:30 or so). But other than that this is very tolerable thusfar. Good luck all!
0 -
boobzilla, glad to hear everything went well. Take care
0 -
I wonder if the removal will be trickier if the port is near the inner elbow. My port will be gone tomorrow.
I'm grateful for all the info here. Thank you for posting!!
0 -
Report back: It took me at least 30 min from injecting the local anesthetics to applying the skin glue (no twilight for me). Obviously when my BS put it in, she used quite a few stitches to secure it. So when the radiologist had to take it out, it was more "work." I felt I heard him cutting with scissors like more than 15 times.
0 -
I'm having a port implanted next week for chemo for PC. It is so great being able to read about your experiences to put my own mind at ease. You all strike me as so brave and determined. May you all be well.
0 -
I had TCHP neoadjuvent chemo from Dec '14 to Apr. '15, then LX, then RT, and continued to have Herceptin for a year. I've just finished the Herceptin, so that will be the last of infusions. Hormonals from now on...
My MO said I could get my port out after Thanksgiving... Are there reasons to keep it in any longer? I can't really think of any, unless I get cancer again, and I'm really hoping NOT to do that!
My veins are crappy, but I still get blood drawn from my arm, since only the infusion nurses and some hospital nurses are qualified to use my port anyway...
Still, I'm nervous about getting it out! It hasn't caused me problems all year. Although it can be a little sensitive if my bra rubs it or the car seat-belt... It will be nice not needing to get it flushed, of course. And the tube up to the neck feels a bit stiff at times.
It's been GREAT having it for my infusions. And when I was hospitalized during chemo and they used it for my IV. SO much nicer than having an IV in my arm for days on end! So I'm happy to have had it for all this time...
Lots of mixed feelings!
I was told NOT to get it done in an office, though. It was put in in the hospital. Just local and twilight, but I was still awake and talking... but at one point a bunch of blood gushed out (I had it all in my hair afterward! Ugh!). They had all these papers wrapped over me and everything to keep sanitary. Anyone have ideas on office vs operating room?
Or keeping port in or not? (I really have no reason to keep it in that I am aware of, although some people on this forum have said their MOs said to keep it in for 2 years just to make sure!)
0 -
Bump
0 -
Hi i am heading toward the end of my herseptin treatment in 3 months time then hoping to get my port removed it has been causing a lot of discomfort in the chest i am hoping to get it removed under twilight the same as when it went in
0 -
Hi Shaz, I'm an old nurse. I agree with port removal in a sterile setting of the OR or a hospita/surgi centerl procedure room. Doc's offices do not have to meet accreditation standards of disinfection.
Flip over to the Port thread and review info written by myself an other members.
A port that causes pain/discomfort should come out when therapy is over. That pain/discomfort is a signal that the tissue isn't happy. Pain/ discomfort over the long haul may show tissue problems. We all don't want a long haul problem. We have enough chit to deal with. But a port that is blissfully comfortably and working........keep.
Many discussions on the other thread over many pages.
I had only one killer chemo. The amount of things that went wrong were ridiculous. First the MO refused to consider a port for 4 recommended adjuvant chemo's, even when I gave him the history of poor vein access. First and only chemo-------3 nurses five attempts. The successful attempt was below one of the higher attempts. This is my 7th year cancerversary. Those upper veins were very dark for a couple of years. Then this last few months noticed they are just darkening like crazy.
Going to repost this to the port thread that I monitor.
Have great health Shaz............
0
