why is there pain near injection site of catheter for chemo treatment?

Is there a reason you don't have a chest port? If not, you should ask for one.

Chemo messes up your veins, and, in my experience, as you have more cycles, it becomes progressively more unpleasant to have it through veins in your arms. (My first cycle was OK through a vein, but on the second cycle they kept moving the needle- no fun. I got a port before the third cycle.)

I was getting chemo through a vein for the first 5 infusions. My veins hurt really bad in my left hand and that lasted for a year!!
The doctor never suggested a port, the infusion nurse is the one who asked me why I didn't have one.
Best thing I did. I have been having infusions off and on for the last 4 years.

did you have any issues with the port like infection, that is my worry-
i have no issues with the weekly blood draw, but with when i get the iv, the nurse can't find a vein easily- does the size of the needle make a difference to be able to pull blood easier?

did you take any meds or other treatment for your left hand afterwards?
For how long did you have the port for a period of infusions, did you ever develop pain or
an infection while having a port?

I never took anything for my left hand. 3 IVs in left and 2 IVs in right.
When I had my first port it pulled out inside my chest after a year so I had it reinserted. Pulled out again a year later. I didn't trust the surgeon and switched to another surgeon.
He was wonderful and explained why it was pulling out. He totally replaced the port with a new one and I've had that one over 2 1/2 years, no problem.
Never had an infection.

I haven't ever had a problem with my port. Certainly no infection. It's completely under the skin, so it doesn't interfere with your life at all. You can shower, swim, etc.

I'm on my second port now. I got the first one removed after I finished my first 6 cycles of chemo. I like to sleep on my stomach, and the port was a hard lump that made that unpleasant. I also had a strange episode of breaking out in hives 5 or 6 weeks after finishing chemo, which I associated with the port, although I don't have evidence that it was involved. Getting the port removed felt a bit like tempting fate, but I did like the feeling that my cancer episode was over.

But when my cancer recurred, I got another one put in before restarting chemo. This one's maybe an inch and a half further to the outside on my chest, just inside my bra strap, and it doesn't bother me as much when sleeping on my stomach. A sports bra covers it, although there's a lump. The new scar also shows under fewer shirts.

Sorry to read that your cancer returned, and you needed more treatments. Do you get weekly blood work done?
Or did you get CT scan, MRI, Ultrasound? On which side of the chest is the port, does it matter? Does a surgeon
do it?

I have endometrial cancer, so the standard of care surveillance after my first chemo was a pelvic exam every three months. This didn't work. I found the recurrence myself 2 weeks after being declared all clear on a pelvic exam. You'll probably have regular blood work and CT scans, which should work better.

My port is on the right, although nurses ask me which side it's on, so it must be possible to put it on either side.

At the hospital I go to, ports are put in and removed by interventional radiologists. They do LOTS of them, assembly line fashion. I've actually been very impressed with all the interventional radiologists I've encountered, both for this (3x) and for a CT-guided biopsy that I had done.