VII. Very ImPORTant Post!

Hi All! Happy Thursday :)

Is it just me, or is it absolutely insane that it's already August!? I cannot believe how quickly the summer is going by! I hope you are taking some time to enjoy the beautiful, sunny weather. Before we know it, it will be snowing again! Alright alright, I'll stop.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, the story that I'm going to be telling you today is one of great importance. So important in fact, that I may or may not dedicate more than one post to it. Am I being obvious enough? If you haven't guessed it yet, today I'll be writing about my port, or as it's called in the medical world, Port-A-Cath.

Call me weird, but I actually named my port (as a technique to help me get use to having it). Let me introduce you to Cathy Porter (you can call her Cath for short). To be honest, Cath and I haven't always been the best of pals. Actually, I pretty much despised her for the first month or so. Let me explain.

If you read my last post, "Pre-Chemo Craziness", you will remember me talking about all of the appointments and tests I needed to complete before receiving my first chemo treatment. Well, receiving Cath happened during that crazy week! My oncologist told me, when I first met with her, that I would need to get a port. She explained that it would be much easier than receiving chemotherapy intravenously. Plus, it would be WAY less harmful on my veins (as one of the chemo drugs is specifically toxic) Great! I was on board. A port sounded like a good plan to me.

However, the night before my port surgery I was feeling a bit nervous. I decided to google "chemo port procedure" videos to help "educate" myself before the big day. WARNING: DO NOT EVER GOOGLE PORT PLACEMENT PROCEDURES THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR PORT PLACEMENT PROCEDURE!!!!! Needless to say I scared the sh** out of myself and had a mini meltdown. The procedure itself wasn't horrible, but the thought of me being awake during it and having a foreign object in my body for the next several months absolutely terrified me. It terrified me so much that the next morning, I called my oncologist (on the way to the surgery center) and begged to not get the port. However, much to my dismay, she assured me that I did indeed need to follow through with the procedure. AKA - Stop being a wimp Becca!

The surgery was quick. I was awake, but all drugged up. Think "David after Dentist" but less funny and absolutely less cute. Below are some questions that I have been asked regarding the surgery and port itself. Please keep in mind that I am not a professional! Use this information as a guide.

Who completed the surgery? Interventional Radiologist

What is a port? An implanted device that allows easy access to an individual's veins. It is surgically implanted beneath the skin and consists of two parts the portal and the catheter.

Where is the port placed? My port is placed on the upper right side of my chest.

Can you see the device through the skin? I do not have much body fat in my chest area so you are able to see my device quite clearly. It protrudes a bit through the skin. At first this really really bothered me. It was difficult to wear certain bras, tank-tops, and shirts, but after awhile I got use to it :)

Did you feel the port being placed during surgery? This one is hard to explain. I couldn't necessarily feel it. They gave me a local numbing agent (cream) as well as shot to numb the area prior to insertion, so I didn't feel any pain. I did however feel lots of tugging and pulling.

Are there different types of ports? Which one do you have? Yes! There are different types of ports. I don't know much about all of them, but I have something called a "dual lumen port". This means that I have two port access points (top and bottom). Every time I went for treatment they would alternate between the two. This type of port is great for patient's who require repeated access for a longer duration.

Did it hurt to access the port each time for treatment? I'm not going to lie. The first time the nurse injected the needle into the port it hurt A LOT! It felt like getting a shot, but with a lot of force behind it. But after my first access, the nurse told me to get Lidocaine cream to help numb the skin over the port. After I started using this numbing agent, it didn't hurt nearly as bad!

Were you in pain after your port surgery? YES YES YES AND YES!! This was the main reason why Cath and I weren't friends for awhile. After coming home from the surgery, I was in a lot of pain. I was told I could take Tylenol, but that absolutely did not cut it. Even the slightest bit of movement caused what I can only describe as a "deep ache". The first two to three weeks of sleeping were pretty terrible too - goodbye stomach sleeping!

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who will be getting a port? Don't be afraid to move around after getting it! Even if it hurts and you're in pain, remember to keep moving! I pretty much laid on the couch for 2-3 weeks after my port insertion. I ended up getting a frozen shoulder from being so stiff and compensating for the right side of my upper body. Keep it movin' sista!

While the weeks after my surgery weren't fun, I do not regret getting the port one bit! My body ended up getting use to it, and the pain subsided. Now I sometimes even forget Cath is there! Plus, it totally beat having to get poked and prodded with needles each time I went for an infusion.

So Cath, it's been a long and bumpy road. But thank you for helping to make my treatments easier and for also helping me realize that the once so scary things really aren't so scary after all :)

https://nurse.org/articles/what-is-a-port-a-cath/