How to prepare for getting a chest port for chemo?

Port placement yesterday. I am finding posture and position imPORTant to pain. Experiencing some inflammation and tenderness 1/2 inch around port. I don't know if that is normal for others. Body temp normal.

If you just had your port placed yesterday it’s pretty normal to have tenderness around the port and all the way up in to the neck. Where the port was implanted is an opening made into your skin. So think of it as a wound that takes time to heal. Also the little protective ring around that opening, supporting the lumens, puts pressure on that area directly so can make it a little more sensitive.
It may start it itch as well as the area starts healing. Don’t scratch it! Just use your hand to pat it.
I used to react to the clear protective patch placed over my port, getting raw and irritated. When the patch got replaced weekly, my nurses went to another type which wasn’t reactive. It used different adhesive. So if you have any issues like that don’t hesitate to tell your oncology team.

The area up into your neck will feel very odd for a few days until you get used to it. This all becomes second nature after a week or so. I felt like an alien from a sci-fi movie. But you’ll be grateful for the port as your treatment begins. Fewer pokes and all your meds, blood draws, etc., come right from the lumens, not your arm.

I am sorry that you’re needing a port. This sounds like a new journey you’re about to enter. May I ask what you’re needed chemo to treat?

Endometrial 4B3 journey began with biopsy 2/2/22. I was caregiver for my Dad with esophageal and sister with pancreatic. Both have passed. I knew to get a port from seeing my sister's burned veins. Hope to make this as painless as possible. I do feel like a Borg. I also had bilateral knee replacements years ago which adds to the Bionics. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

First, my condolences on the loss of your father and sister. Cancers shows no mercy, does it. My family suffered its share of saddness over this disease too. It’s our last gift to our loved ones to be able to be their caregivers through that journey.

I’m sorry that you’re now faced with your own journey. I hope you have a great support team behind you too! Though, being in the Connect forum you’re never flying solo. Most of us have gone through our own exciting times with a medical crises or have been caregivers so we’re here to offer support and encouragement.

I’d like to introduce you to a fellow mentor, @naturegirl5. Helen has had her own journey through the land of endometrial cancer and will be a good source of information you.

I’ve picked up on your sense of humor! Personally, I think it’s a key to our spirit of endurance. While you’re a bionic woman with artificial parts, I’m a Chimera with 2 sets of DNA. 😅

When do you get to try out that new port?

Tuesday chemo cycle one. Port got delayed by Covid.

@cruisebylandorsea

As @loribmt mentioned I have been through the journey of endometrial cancer. What is endometrial cancer 4Bb? Can you tell me more?

My sincere condolences on the loss of your father and your sister. It's such a difficult road to take with your family. Both of my parents died from cancer and my brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 - he's on hormone therapy now.

I was diagnosed with endometroid adenocarcinoma FIGO 1 in August, 2019 and then went to Mayo Clinic in Rochester where I had a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy. After surgery I was staged 1a, and then had recurrence in October, 2021. Five weeks of external beam radiation therapy and two treatments of internal brachytherapy. At this point I return to Mayo Clinic every four months for two years, then every 6 months. I'm healing well from the radiation therapy but it certainly has disrupted my life and I'm looking over my shoulder for what's next.

As for the bionic woman, I can relate! I had a total hip replacement and also cataract surgery. What an improvement in my quality of life from both of those procedures. Did you feel that way after your knee replacements?

You start chemotherapy on Tuesday? I'm thinking you've been through this with your sister and your father. I hope you have someone present to support you as you did with your family. How are you feeling today with that chemo appointment coming up soon?

Stage 4B FIGO 3 which I think is the worst staging one can get. My first TKR was a year before my sister had pancreatic. I hugged my surgeon when I returned. If I had not had my surgery I would not have been able to give her the care she needed. Anxious for chemo, since I don't know how I'll react. Some nodes that glowed got left behind during robotic surgery. So chemo should have been weeks ago. Onward!

I had a chemo port taken out almost a year ago. It was a an outpatient procedure both in and out. What pain I experienced was not from the port itself but how the needle was inserted. Some of the nurses put it in so gently, I didn’t feel it and others, it felt like a railroad spike going through my shoulder. Sorry if that it scary, but cancer IS scary.
The port came out a year ago and I have a little scar: I refer to it as my Red Badge of Courage. I had planned on getting a tattoo of a big red “C” but my nurse navigator says to hold off because if the port ever has to go back in, it will be a problem.

Why would they put back in the same spot. I would not as finally had my port taken out and it has been uncomfortable at times. It has been out for 3 or 4 years now but had it in for 6 years. Had it taken out in hospital as Dr. said tricky business to remove so would not do in out patient. Just curious.

If she is interested a company called Comfy Chemo makes shirts for easy port access. Not a commercial, but both my sister and I used their products and appreciated the ease of use and construction. They have their own website and you can get them on Amazon.