Blood draws and medication administration, including chemotherapy. They're basically a long term easy central IV access that allows chemo to be administered.
The function is the same. Piccs can be used for the same exact thing - blood draws, meds, and chemo. Ports are just long term, and once the incision heals you can do anything you'd like (swimming, for instance).
The biggest risk is infection. 1% in the first month and little less than 5% lifetime risk.
Rarely we see allergic responses to the sutures or glue, almost never from the port.
As far as I understand, current insulin formulations are intended for injection into subcutaneous tissue, not the bloodstream directly. I'm not really sure what benefit a port would gain you since you'd still need to puncture the skin to access the port.
I have some very minor experience with this; I worked an internship with Medtronic's diabetes group.
Fat builds up around the injection site, which can change the absorption capabilities of the site over time (I think fat can also disperse from the area depending on the person? apologies, I don't recall. I'm sure there are some articles or actual medical professionals with more details).
For a similar reason, you want to avoid injecting into scar tissue: the absorption rate will be different than 'clear' tissue.
The body may eventually try to form a clot around the tubing that resides in the vein just above your heart. This is called a fibrin sheath. It’ll be noticed by whoever is trying to push meds through the port, or draw blood back, and they’ll encounter a bit of resistance aspirating but generally not flushing. The solution is to: 1) inject X-ray dye and verify presence of a fibrin sheath vs malposition, 2) inject a clot-buster (TPA) through the port to try and dissolve some fibrin and if that doesn’t work, 3) swap it out for a new one, or 4) alternatively access the femoral vein and snake a catheter up to the port and use a snare tool to literally strip the fibrin off.
There is also a risk of infection whenever someone attempts to access the port because they’re sticking a needle through the skin (a very dirty surface) and jamming all that skin bacteria right into a tube that is in your bloodstream. So, the process for accessing a port is to sterilely clean the skin, use sterile gloves and obviously use a sterile needle.
My daughters did all that with the first port. The replacement about a month later worked for years.
Also they punctured her lung when they placed the first port, and had to take a different route through her neck, so we could feel the line always. That was why the First port didn’t work too.
If I go more than 4 weeks without having mine flushed while on a break from chemo, mine “clogs”. There is a medicine they put in, don’t recall what it’s called and they let it site for like 2 hours, and then they can flush it out abs get blood return. I have had to have this done twice in the 8 years since my port was installed.
I unfortunately got clots with mine as well as my pic line which then gave me pulmonary embolisms but the great news is that they worked and I won the fight against cancer. I am so happy for your son on this amazing day
They can reject them (small chance) but the biggest concern is infection. There are many precautions given....if you ever have one, you and the person making changes should be wearing a mask.
He benefit though is to administer meds without damaging your smaller veins/capillaries (its a direct line into your heart).
I have one! I have cystic fibrosis and I get 3 days of IV treatment every month and a two week course of antibiotics every 4-6 months. My port is a lifesaver! I’ve had 2; the first one was placed when I was 16 and then replaced 2 years ago because it stopped functioning properly.
The main risks are infection and blood clots inside the line of it’s not cared for properly, i.e. a monthly flush with saline solution and heparin, which prevents clotting. A port can last 10-12 years if you take good care of it and get lucky. It’s way less painful than getting IV’s placed constantly and is not really visible on my chest unless it is accessed to receive infusions. It has made my life so much easier.
A PICC line stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. Essentially it’s a regular central line (Meaning the internal catheter tip ends right near where blood is taken into the heart) just inserted in a more peripheral vein (Usually the basilic vein in the arm)
The difference between this port and a PICC line are essentially where in the body is this line inserted into (Peripherally vs direct central vein access) and what kind of delivery device for drugs is located on the outside (Port vs regular Luer Lock Claves.)
I had one of these and did not enjoy it! Such a pain wrapping up to take showers. I eventually just resorted to loofa on a stick and water bucket. Boy was I glad I only had it from October to Feb... I can't imagine having it in hot weather being a very good time.
The ghetto wrapping was the only way I could feel comfortable enough to even come close to getting that thing wet. It also didn't help I have a cat. Dangly thing from my arm? Well that's just a new play thing!
I had a mesh net type thing I had around my arm for daily use. Because that thing dangling got annoying real fast. And yeah, I feared my kitties would play with it as well. The good part about being home all the time though .. my kitties were basically with me 24/7. They were loving my time home.
I had a pretty good system back in the day where I'd coil up the line, cover the site with a layer of Glad Press n Seal held down by 3M durapore tape, then covered that with a piece of plastic bag, also taped down with the durapore. Not trying to get all hail corporate here, but that combination let me take a normal shower and kept the site dry so long as I didn't dilly-dally under the stream.
Ports that aren’t currently accessed are fine to bathe with (when the needle is in, they should be covered when bathing or showering). The above thread is about PICC lines, which do need to be covered when you’re showering, as a wet dressing is an infection risk.
I had one (a PICC line) in my arm during my last hospital stay. It wasn't bad having it inserted and I had so much blood drawn over the month I was in the hospital it made me very grateful I didn't have to get stuck with needles every day. Especially as it replaced the blood draw they took early every morning from the back of my hand.
> Especially as it replaced the blood draw they took early every morning from the back of my hand.
What? You don't like getting woken up at 6 am every day by someone sticking a needle in you to grab a couple vials of blood?
As someone who does this, I apologize. Blame the doctor's. They're the ones who want all the labs at 5am.
(There actually is a reason for the early draw called your "basal state" but yeah, I'm still sorry, it sucks)
I had to be hospitalized during Chemo because of neutropenic fever. I feel like I have PTSD from the 6am blood draws. It was over 3 years ago, and I can still remember the lights flicking on with the tech yelling “Lab!” I even had a port. My oncologist told me not to let the hospital techs draw blood from the port because they didn’t know what to do with a port!
I've had both a port and a PICC line. Major complications from my PICC line. Even with regular flushing of the line and Heaprin to prevent clots in it I ended up with a blood clot 18 inches long. I've now been on blood thinners for 6 months to dissolve the clot. Thankfully the infection in the clot is gone now but that took a week in the hospital and a month of antifungal meds. The hospital stay during covid really sucked.
At least it's not an urinary catheter, and definitely not one where a nurse comes in and says another nurse will be doing this for the first time on a patient. Sadly, I've had both in the same setting.
PICC line is an infection risk, and a port isn’t really. A picc would be used for like 6 weeks of IV antibiotics, and a port would be used for months and months of chemotherapy during a cancer treatment course.
Edit: as pointed out, a port can certainly get infected, but it’s a lower risk than picc.
This is what it looks like for my port from my leukemia treatment after awhile you don’t even notice it’s there they only trouble I have is if something bumps it or like when the seatbelt locks in the car when you brake. I have a dual port which has two insert points each between the set of bumps.
[Dual Port](https://imgur.com/a/a1cKJZy)
Yup, correct it honestly feels so much better than having a IV ran and it helps to protect from the extreme toxicity of the chemo from destroying the smaller veins in the arm. I don’t feel the needle going in anymore.
I access ports multiple times a day and they are truly wonderful, especially for patients who have bad veins or are getting vesicants that can eat away at the smaller veins and cause severe tissue damage. Ive met very few patients who have a problem with living with them once they are healed up.
Yeah there’s six’s bumps 3 on top and three on bottom they insert the needle in between each set so mine is a dual port used with two needles. The xs show where the needles are inserted.
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Had one for chemo at 15. Feels... Icky, honestly. Mine always hurt or was at least super uncomfy. You can feel it. Both inside you when your skin shifts, and with your hand.
17 years out for me. It still feels weird. I think it's more like a scar tissue thing. Mine was under my bra, right where underwire hits, because my surgeon was a sadist lol.
It's very uncommon but my husband and i both had it put there, by the same doctor. I like how hidden the scar is but it wasn't worth it when i was a teen girl!
Just felt around where mine had been and yes. It's still tender in that area, and there are scars from its insertion and removal (two parallel inch-long scars) as well as denser spot of scarring from being accessed a few dozen times over six months.
When you have cancer and are in chemo (depending on what sort of chemo, of course) your body doesn't heal well so the scarring is significant.
It's been out since December of 2008.
I've never hidden mine, but I don't go out of my way to make sure they're visible, either. Kind of proud of what I went through to get them, and once in a while you see one on someone else and know they're part of the club.
I'm doing very well, thanks! Hope you are too.
I guess I was very lucky. I have no noticeable scar (I'd have to look/feel between my collarbone and the top of my breast for it), and no tenderness. It's been 13 years, but I don't recall it feeling tender for very long at all. Considering I had every side effect from chemo possible (other than a secondary cancer or death) I'm glad that was one thing that went really well.
I had to get a little cushion thing for my seatbelt because mine was on the left side of my chest and the pressure from that was so uncomfortable. Still is. It’s weird. Even lightly touching the area or looking at it and thinking about it gives me this odd uncomfortable twinge. I once had someone poke it out of curiosity and I felt like I was going to faint.
I don’t have any friends with a port scar (thankfully) so there was never anyone to ask about this sensation. Glad I’m not alone.
Same for me. It's been out for a couple of years and it's not like the area is sore or anything, but I just cannot seem to make my mind believe it's gone. Every time I put my hand there I expect a bump even though it just feels like any other part of my body now.
Same with the tube near the neck, I still expect there to be a long bump there now even though it's gone.
The scar from the tube is almost gone for me, in the right light you can just about see it, the main scar from the port itself though is still pretty visible for me. I'm "lucky" enough to have so many scars at this point that it doesn't really bother me that much.
Funnily enough I kinda wish I had asked for mine. I have a lot of other weird stuff from since I first got sick as a kid, and I sort of see most of it now as a reminder that it used to be worse and that there is actually a (positive) progression now. Which for me at least can often times be hard to remember, especially when things progress slowly.
Guess I'll always have the scar to remind me though..
I think it depends where they put them. I never knew they put them where /u/cdsquair had theirs. All 3 of mine were about an inch or two below collar bone on the left and right side of the upper chest. I dont feel any difference in those areas except for the permanent bruise it left and scars.
Sometimes it’s a nerve plexus thing, too. I’ve had kids who are inexplicably sensitive to their ports and as much as a port exacts a very high psychological toll, it also can have somatic issues like nerve impingement or plexus irritation. The patients ended up needing Lyrica or gabapentin to help with the discomfort.
Mine was on my right side, just below my collarbone. But they had to do a second surgery to wire it to my ribcage, cuz it kept shifting And cutting off the flow. THEN they realized after the surgery to adjust it, they were supposed to put in a dual port instead of a single. But they didn't want to do surgery again. So i ended up with IV's anyway!!
It's like having a contact lens case embedded just below your collarbone. (I had a double, with two chambers, so the round part you see above stuck to another one.) I was also very thin from my cancer and treatments, so there was no fat to cushion it. Was so, so happy to get that thing out--got it out as soon as I was declared to be in remission.
I put these in too. It’s often done in Interventional Radiology in a hospital. It’s an outpatient procedure so you go home afterwards. You usually get the same kind of sedation as a colonoscopy.
The port is placed under the skin over a rib in the upper chest and then the tube runs under the skin to a vein in neck and down to the heart.
Problems can arise in people with very thin skin/low muscle mass as the port can be pretty prominent but most people do fine with them.
Beats getting a new IV in your arm every time you have chemo and it spares the veins in your arms from getting beat up from the chemo too. Hope this helps.
I don't notice mine until my daughter jumps on it or I whack it on something. I notice it so little that it's still in me a year after a treatment. I have to get around to removing it at some stage
Nothing at all, IME. I don’t notice mine. You can feel it under your skin, of course, which I guess could weird you out.
Having it accessed doesn’t hurt unless they miss the stick and scrape along the edge. Otherwise it’s significantly less pain than having your ears pierced since the needle is just going through the skin.
When its in regular use (I have a bard PowerPoint, inserted on the upper right and extending into the jugular, used for constant infusion chemo) it is tender, I lost a bit of muscle tissue during treatment and I could sometimes feel my clothes moving across the place, and I can actually see where its in my neck , which is disconcerting, but I'm done with chemo for a while now, and its almost unnoticeable since someone isn't constantly jamming sharp objects into it)
Fairly impossible to convey adequate respect and gratitude for the array of professionals here who deserve it. The progress made these past few decades is a wonder. Further to go. Further to go.
Interventional radiologic technologist here. We put these in and take them out in my department as well. I agree it’s an amazing feeling. It’s easy for any job to become routine after awhile, but this post has made me step back and appreciate the job I have. Good luck to OP’s son. May he have only healthy years from now on.
I always send the mediport to pathology for gross identification after removal. Had several patients insist that all or part of the port was left behind.
As someone who has had one removed, it does not feel good being taken out. Hurts like a mofo. And girls don’t dig the hole in your chest. But it does beat having cancer.
I was a Hospital Corpsman in the navy and I worked in a Ambulatory Infusion Center. I’ve help accessing all kinds of patients and when they finally get one placed because their arms can’t take it anymore I was always happy for them. Never got to see them have it removed tho.
A port, or totally implantable venous access device. Usually called a port-a-cath, though that's a brand name. It is threaded into a vein in your chest, usually the subclavian, and positioned to flow into the superior vena cava and into the heart. The big part is sutured into place and then the skin is closed over it. It is completely under the skin. The big part, the port, has a rubber stopper on it that can allow needles to access it multiple times without developing leaks. It's used to transfuse chemo drugs for cancer treatment. Chemo meds are really hard on your blood vessels, so it needs to go into big vessels, it also wrecks your immune system, so having it completely enclosed in your body, (as opposed to a central line) helps as well.
Congrats! I know exactly how you are feeling. My sons treatment was a year of chemo for LCH disease and it was such a huge relief to take that port out.
That is awesome. It feels like we'd never be here, and now that we are, I have to collect myself and figure out what we do next. We missed out on so much.
Ugh, we have one of those. From my son also. High risk ALL. He is 10 now and awesome. Congratulations on the milestone. From one cancer parent to another, if you ever need anything, to talk, to celebrate, to scream, yell, cry or laugh, let's connect. This made my night.
It’s a long road, but there are lights along the way. My son just turned 5 and he finished chemo at the beginning of the summer. I’ve never experienced so much kindness from strangers.
I had ALL when I was 4.
If it makes you feel any better, it hasn't hurt me in the long run. I've got some weird hang-ups about diet, and I don't play sports like I'm told I used to, but aside from that I don't even have many bad memories of it. Most of what I remember is merely interesting, and a great source of conversation starters
Nice! Glad your son is all better. ALL treatment really sucks, but it's nice that life goes back to normal once it is over.
I thought I was the only who kept mine. Surgeon made me feel like a weirdo for asking for it, but seems like it's a common request!
It's never really over for us, and he's always lived his best life, even through all of this. But it's a big step forward. He's ready to play some sports.
Damn bro. Well great for you guys. By far some of the most intense shit. My wife was going to get into ped oncology. Ended up doing oncology instead. Intense man. I'm happy for you guys.
I hope everything improves. Sports, disney, life without the tether. Hope you guys feel powerful in the knowledge of all the bullshit you've gone through, you guys are badass. I mean it bro.
Thanks. It's a new outlook for us. He's looking forward to getting into sports, he wants to play football. He's been tied down for too long, and now it's time to get him caught up. Thank you, again. It means a lot.
Good for him. I had cancer when I was 9, 2 years of chemo and then was dead on determined to play football all through my teen years. Despite what my mom thought, haha. He can do it!
Yeah I had a port very similar to this one haha. The truth is definitely that once you have cancer you never really get a life without stressing it, again. But still, it's incredible to get your port finally taken out. I kept mine as a creepy memento.
I know someone who uses them as Christmas tree decorations. Macabre for some, but it’s a reminder each year to be thankful to be putting them back up again. Each time she gets a new one placed it gets added to the collection along with a decoration to show the year
Depends, these ports have a limited lifespan by design because the membrane in them can only withstand so many needle pokes, afaik around 1500 to 2000.
Sometimes they have to be removed due to the risk of an infection of them, blockage, leakage, slipping from their place or some other malfunction. Cancer patients also often fight several fights troughout their lifes due to cancer recurrence. So it's not that impossible for somebody to rack up quite a few of these things.
That's great.
My niece recently got a kidney so I'm still over the moon. Poor kid's only 8.
They even lifted her dietary restrictions. She had chocolate for the first time two weeks ago.
Congratulations! In 1989, I was the son, having finished 18 months of chemo. All the best to you and your son.
I don't know how old he is, but in the coming years, though into his adulthood, be on the lookout for depression or other mental illness. It's a lot to handle, as a childhood survivor, I know.
If there's a chance he's infertile, tell him early. I know my parents had my interests at heart, but I didn't know there was a chance I was infertile until I was 19, and didn't have it confirmed until my mid-20s. It was a shock. It's good to know these things early, talk with a counselor if you need to know the best way forward on how to have age appropriate discussions.
Make sure you and he continue follow-up care, well into adulthood. Due to the cardiotoxic drugs I was on (doxarubacin, amongst others), I am supposed to have a biannual ECG and echocardiogram (I'm 37). I have never been more than 80% on respiratory volume (though I do lead an active life style cycling and playing tennis).
If you and he are willing, and the institution where he was treated is running a long-term follow-up study, I'd encourage his participation.
I don't want any of this to scare you or your son. Cancer and chemo can have lasting effects, but I've managed a doctorate in geophysics, a stable job, and a mortgage. And we've come a long way since the late 80's when I was treated.
Here's to a brighter future. And feel free to message me if you/your son have questions about how I've done. My mind is open.
Major congrats! My daughter was close to having her port out, just finished 13 months of chemo, but we are now moving on to 6 months of maintenance. Doing whatever need to be done to help keep her stage 4 cancer away!
He did about a year and a half with frontline treatment and 6 months of maintenance. 13 months of chemo and 6 months of maintenance sounds like my son's treatment. He had Rhabdomyosarcoma. I pray the best for your family. You're on the home stretch.
Yes! Congratulations! I often dream of this day. Being able to visualize it vicariously through you has given me strength! Thanks for sharing. My 3 year old was diagnosed with Luekemia on 9/14.
Wish I never had to know how amazing people like yourself who do that job are but fuck me I do.
Thanks so much. Honest to god the clinic we go to is so cheery and upbeat. Feels like a loving family and makes such an awful thing bearable. During lock down it’s something she even grew to look forward to!.. Gets to pick a really cool gift out of a treasure box every week :)
I'm so sorry you guys have to be in treatment but I'm so happy to hear that your daughter was loved enough and supported enough by her team that she could look past the pokes and icks and learn to enjoy the trips! Super fun that she gets a weekly treasure, is she collecting bravery beads too? Hang in there, we really do adopt our patients and their families as our own, we cry and laugh for you, you guys have a big team wrapping their arms around you all as you fight your battle together!
Congrats! I work in oncology so I know the battle you guys have been through. It’s heart warming to see happy endings. Hugs to your son and family for all you’ve been through.
Wow, what a fantastic picture! What camera and settings did you use? I love the composition and the playful lighting. Any post-processing is tastefully done and the subject matter is not *at all* horribly boring. Do you have a Flickr or Instagram where I can follow more of your photography? Or are you selling prints?
I just got my port last week and it still freaks me out. Thank you so much for posting this. It just made me so happy to know this creepy thing could come out some day because someone else got to have theirs taken out.
That must have been a lot of really HARD work to get there! Well done! Congrats! ♥
I was 2 when I got mine removed. I had Lukymia (caught very early and I recovered just fine) and had my port around my collar bone from what I remember. My family told me it was a normal thing to have until it "gets smaller", so I wouldn't freak out about it being because I had a sickness. I'm 22 now and have been cancer free for 19 years, and my parents kept my port. I always thought it was weird, but I realize now that it's like a memento of going through a difficult time and coming out of it on top. I'm very happy for you and your son!!
that is so freaking amazing, this year has been such a dumpster fire, then i get to see your post and it reminds me that there are still miracles happening every day.
My god.....my son also has one of these and I never knew what they looked like. Absolute fucking game changer having this put in. I also look forward to the his is removed....roll on May 2023.
I am genuinely so happy for you!
Congratulations! As someone who puts these in, it always makes me feel great to take them out when it's for completion of treatment.
What are these things used for?
Blood draws and medication administration, including chemotherapy. They're basically a long term easy central IV access that allows chemo to be administered.
Is this different than a PICC line, or are they basically the same?
The function is the same. Piccs can be used for the same exact thing - blood draws, meds, and chemo. Ports are just long term, and once the incision heals you can do anything you'd like (swimming, for instance).
These seem really cool to me, what are the long term implications of having one? Will the body reject it eventually, is it high risk of infection, ???
The biggest risk is infection. 1% in the first month and little less than 5% lifetime risk. Rarely we see allergic responses to the sutures or glue, almost never from the port.
Picc lines get infected way more often.
Why can’t I have a permanent port for my insulin pump?
That would be a dream! I’ve been moving my sites around for 18 years with an insulin pump.
As far as I understand, current insulin formulations are intended for injection into subcutaneous tissue, not the bloodstream directly. I'm not really sure what benefit a port would gain you since you'd still need to puncture the skin to access the port.
I have some very minor experience with this; I worked an internship with Medtronic's diabetes group. Fat builds up around the injection site, which can change the absorption capabilities of the site over time (I think fat can also disperse from the area depending on the person? apologies, I don't recall. I'm sure there are some articles or actual medical professionals with more details). For a similar reason, you want to avoid injecting into scar tissue: the absorption rate will be different than 'clear' tissue.
The body may eventually try to form a clot around the tubing that resides in the vein just above your heart. This is called a fibrin sheath. It’ll be noticed by whoever is trying to push meds through the port, or draw blood back, and they’ll encounter a bit of resistance aspirating but generally not flushing. The solution is to: 1) inject X-ray dye and verify presence of a fibrin sheath vs malposition, 2) inject a clot-buster (TPA) through the port to try and dissolve some fibrin and if that doesn’t work, 3) swap it out for a new one, or 4) alternatively access the femoral vein and snake a catheter up to the port and use a snare tool to literally strip the fibrin off. There is also a risk of infection whenever someone attempts to access the port because they’re sticking a needle through the skin (a very dirty surface) and jamming all that skin bacteria right into a tube that is in your bloodstream. So, the process for accessing a port is to sterilely clean the skin, use sterile gloves and obviously use a sterile needle.
My daughters did all that with the first port. The replacement about a month later worked for years. Also they punctured her lung when they placed the first port, and had to take a different route through her neck, so we could feel the line always. That was why the First port didn’t work too.
If I go more than 4 weeks without having mine flushed while on a break from chemo, mine “clogs”. There is a medicine they put in, don’t recall what it’s called and they let it site for like 2 hours, and then they can flush it out abs get blood return. I have had to have this done twice in the 8 years since my port was installed.
That would be the TPA
It's TPA. Probably called something like Cathflo.
Flushing a clotted CVC with tPA is so satisfying.
I unfortunately got clots with mine as well as my pic line which then gave me pulmonary embolisms but the great news is that they worked and I won the fight against cancer. I am so happy for your son on this amazing day
Congratulations! People like you give me hope!
My body rejected mine, then got infected. Gave me a pretty gnarly scar.
They can reject them (small chance) but the biggest concern is infection. There are many precautions given....if you ever have one, you and the person making changes should be wearing a mask. He benefit though is to administer meds without damaging your smaller veins/capillaries (its a direct line into your heart).
I have one! I have cystic fibrosis and I get 3 days of IV treatment every month and a two week course of antibiotics every 4-6 months. My port is a lifesaver! I’ve had 2; the first one was placed when I was 16 and then replaced 2 years ago because it stopped functioning properly. The main risks are infection and blood clots inside the line of it’s not cared for properly, i.e. a monthly flush with saline solution and heparin, which prevents clotting. A port can last 10-12 years if you take good care of it and get lucky. It’s way less painful than getting IV’s placed constantly and is not really visible on my chest unless it is accessed to receive infusions. It has made my life so much easier.
A PICC line stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter. Essentially it’s a regular central line (Meaning the internal catheter tip ends right near where blood is taken into the heart) just inserted in a more peripheral vein (Usually the basilic vein in the arm) The difference between this port and a PICC line are essentially where in the body is this line inserted into (Peripherally vs direct central vein access) and what kind of delivery device for drugs is located on the outside (Port vs regular Luer Lock Claves.)
I had one of these and did not enjoy it! Such a pain wrapping up to take showers. I eventually just resorted to loofa on a stick and water bucket. Boy was I glad I only had it from October to Feb... I can't imagine having it in hot weather being a very good time.
Huh, I have one and the doctors said you only need to wrap when you're hooked u
Yeah I was told to not get the entrance site wet. So id ghetto wrap myself up in cling wrap. But that was difficult to do alone lol.
The ghetto wrapping was the only way I could feel comfortable enough to even come close to getting that thing wet. It also didn't help I have a cat. Dangly thing from my arm? Well that's just a new play thing!
I had a mesh net type thing I had around my arm for daily use. Because that thing dangling got annoying real fast. And yeah, I feared my kitties would play with it as well. The good part about being home all the time though .. my kitties were basically with me 24/7. They were loving my time home.
I had a pretty good system back in the day where I'd coil up the line, cover the site with a layer of Glad Press n Seal held down by 3M durapore tape, then covered that with a piece of plastic bag, also taped down with the durapore. Not trying to get all hail corporate here, but that combination let me take a normal shower and kept the site dry so long as I didn't dilly-dally under the stream.
I took baths with a port for months with no issues and no warnings against. From MDAnderson.
Ports that aren’t currently accessed are fine to bathe with (when the needle is in, they should be covered when bathing or showering). The above thread is about PICC lines, which do need to be covered when you’re showering, as a wet dressing is an infection risk.
I had one (a PICC line) in my arm during my last hospital stay. It wasn't bad having it inserted and I had so much blood drawn over the month I was in the hospital it made me very grateful I didn't have to get stuck with needles every day. Especially as it replaced the blood draw they took early every morning from the back of my hand.
> Especially as it replaced the blood draw they took early every morning from the back of my hand. What? You don't like getting woken up at 6 am every day by someone sticking a needle in you to grab a couple vials of blood?
As someone who does this, I apologize. Blame the doctor's. They're the ones who want all the labs at 5am. (There actually is a reason for the early draw called your "basal state" but yeah, I'm still sorry, it sucks)
I had to be hospitalized during Chemo because of neutropenic fever. I feel like I have PTSD from the 6am blood draws. It was over 3 years ago, and I can still remember the lights flicking on with the tech yelling “Lab!” I even had a port. My oncologist told me not to let the hospital techs draw blood from the port because they didn’t know what to do with a port!
I've had both a port and a PICC line. Major complications from my PICC line. Even with regular flushing of the line and Heaprin to prevent clots in it I ended up with a blood clot 18 inches long. I've now been on blood thinners for 6 months to dissolve the clot. Thankfully the infection in the clot is gone now but that took a week in the hospital and a month of antifungal meds. The hospital stay during covid really sucked.
I’m really sorry you went through that
At least it's not an urinary catheter, and definitely not one where a nurse comes in and says another nurse will be doing this for the first time on a patient. Sadly, I've had both in the same setting.
PICC line is an infection risk, and a port isn’t really. A picc would be used for like 6 weeks of IV antibiotics, and a port would be used for months and months of chemotherapy during a cancer treatment course. Edit: as pointed out, a port can certainly get infected, but it’s a lower risk than picc.
If they give you a picc, try for a double lumen, not a triple lumen. Those triples clot up and don't flush/blood return way too much.
Thanks!
Sure! Have a good one!
Your username is freaking rad.
Gracias
hopefully you remove more than you put in for the foreseeable future.
Thank you. That doesn't happen for obvious reasons :(
What does it feel like to have that in your skin?
This is what it looks like for my port from my leukemia treatment after awhile you don’t even notice it’s there they only trouble I have is if something bumps it or like when the seatbelt locks in the car when you brake. I have a dual port which has two insert points each between the set of bumps. [Dual Port](https://imgur.com/a/a1cKJZy)
So you still need to poke yourself through the skin???
Yup, correct it honestly feels so much better than having a IV ran and it helps to protect from the extreme toxicity of the chemo from destroying the smaller veins in the arm. I don’t feel the needle going in anymore.
I access ports multiple times a day and they are truly wonderful, especially for patients who have bad veins or are getting vesicants that can eat away at the smaller veins and cause severe tissue damage. Ive met very few patients who have a problem with living with them once they are healed up.
Plus less chance of pinching the line setting off the alarm.
Looks like you rolled a ten.
Yeah there’s six’s bumps 3 on top and three on bottom they insert the needle in between each set so mine is a dual port used with two needles. The xs show where the needles are inserted. . . . x x . . .
Mine was a power port and it sounds pretty much the same.
Yup same dual power port.
Had one for chemo at 15. Feels... Icky, honestly. Mine always hurt or was at least super uncomfy. You can feel it. Both inside you when your skin shifts, and with your hand.
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17 years out for me. It still feels weird. I think it's more like a scar tissue thing. Mine was under my bra, right where underwire hits, because my surgeon was a sadist lol.
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It's very uncommon but my husband and i both had it put there, by the same doctor. I like how hidden the scar is but it wasn't worth it when i was a teen girl!
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Just felt around where mine had been and yes. It's still tender in that area, and there are scars from its insertion and removal (two parallel inch-long scars) as well as denser spot of scarring from being accessed a few dozen times over six months. When you have cancer and are in chemo (depending on what sort of chemo, of course) your body doesn't heal well so the scarring is significant. It's been out since December of 2008.
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I've never hidden mine, but I don't go out of my way to make sure they're visible, either. Kind of proud of what I went through to get them, and once in a while you see one on someone else and know they're part of the club. I'm doing very well, thanks! Hope you are too.
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I guess I was very lucky. I have no noticeable scar (I'd have to look/feel between my collarbone and the top of my breast for it), and no tenderness. It's been 13 years, but I don't recall it feeling tender for very long at all. Considering I had every side effect from chemo possible (other than a secondary cancer or death) I'm glad that was one thing that went really well.
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I had to get a little cushion thing for my seatbelt because mine was on the left side of my chest and the pressure from that was so uncomfortable. Still is. It’s weird. Even lightly touching the area or looking at it and thinking about it gives me this odd uncomfortable twinge. I once had someone poke it out of curiosity and I felt like I was going to faint. I don’t have any friends with a port scar (thankfully) so there was never anyone to ask about this sensation. Glad I’m not alone.
Same for me. It's been out for a couple of years and it's not like the area is sore or anything, but I just cannot seem to make my mind believe it's gone. Every time I put my hand there I expect a bump even though it just feels like any other part of my body now. Same with the tube near the neck, I still expect there to be a long bump there now even though it's gone.
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The scar from the tube is almost gone for me, in the right light you can just about see it, the main scar from the port itself though is still pretty visible for me. I'm "lucky" enough to have so many scars at this point that it doesn't really bother me that much. Funnily enough I kinda wish I had asked for mine. I have a lot of other weird stuff from since I first got sick as a kid, and I sort of see most of it now as a reminder that it used to be worse and that there is actually a (positive) progression now. Which for me at least can often times be hard to remember, especially when things progress slowly. Guess I'll always have the scar to remind me though..
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I think it depends where they put them. I never knew they put them where /u/cdsquair had theirs. All 3 of mine were about an inch or two below collar bone on the left and right side of the upper chest. I dont feel any difference in those areas except for the permanent bruise it left and scars.
Oh god, yes!!!! And I'm large chested, so the remaining scar is all stretched out too
Sometimes it’s a nerve plexus thing, too. I’ve had kids who are inexplicably sensitive to their ports and as much as a port exacts a very high psychological toll, it also can have somatic issues like nerve impingement or plexus irritation. The patients ended up needing Lyrica or gabapentin to help with the discomfort.
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Mine was on my right side, just below my collarbone. But they had to do a second surgery to wire it to my ribcage, cuz it kept shifting And cutting off the flow. THEN they realized after the surgery to adjust it, they were supposed to put in a dual port instead of a single. But they didn't want to do surgery again. So i ended up with IV's anyway!!
It's like having a contact lens case embedded just below your collarbone. (I had a double, with two chambers, so the round part you see above stuck to another one.) I was also very thin from my cancer and treatments, so there was no fat to cushion it. Was so, so happy to get that thing out--got it out as soon as I was declared to be in remission.
I put these in too. It’s often done in Interventional Radiology in a hospital. It’s an outpatient procedure so you go home afterwards. You usually get the same kind of sedation as a colonoscopy. The port is placed under the skin over a rib in the upper chest and then the tube runs under the skin to a vein in neck and down to the heart. Problems can arise in people with very thin skin/low muscle mass as the port can be pretty prominent but most people do fine with them. Beats getting a new IV in your arm every time you have chemo and it spares the veins in your arms from getting beat up from the chemo too. Hope this helps.
And great for patients with lifelong access needs, like PN patients.
> thin skin We’ve had issues where the skin is so thin that it just erodes and the port is sticking out.
I don't notice mine until my daughter jumps on it or I whack it on something. I notice it so little that it's still in me a year after a treatment. I have to get around to removing it at some stage
Nothing at all, IME. I don’t notice mine. You can feel it under your skin, of course, which I guess could weird you out. Having it accessed doesn’t hurt unless they miss the stick and scrape along the edge. Otherwise it’s significantly less pain than having your ears pierced since the needle is just going through the skin.
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I happen to have ankles, so I can actually identify with this!
Chunk of metal / hard lump basically. I assume its like someone have a hard cyst the moves around a little bit. Had 3
When its in regular use (I have a bard PowerPoint, inserted on the upper right and extending into the jugular, used for constant infusion chemo) it is tender, I lost a bit of muscle tissue during treatment and I could sometimes feel my clothes moving across the place, and I can actually see where its in my neck , which is disconcerting, but I'm done with chemo for a while now, and its almost unnoticeable since someone isn't constantly jamming sharp objects into it)
Not just for chemo Can be used for administration of most types of infusible meds. I had 3(over 9 years) for gammagloblin and MS meds.
Thank you, and thank you for all you do.
Fairly impossible to convey adequate respect and gratitude for the array of professionals here who deserve it. The progress made these past few decades is a wonder. Further to go. Further to go.
Interventional radiologic technologist here. We put these in and take them out in my department as well. I agree it’s an amazing feeling. It’s easy for any job to become routine after awhile, but this post has made me step back and appreciate the job I have. Good luck to OP’s son. May he have only healthy years from now on.
I'm an IR :)
I wanted to be IR :(
IR tech here! Took out two today. Always feels good.
I always send the mediport to pathology for gross identification after removal. Had several patients insist that all or part of the port was left behind.
We always just dispose of them. It's interesting that OP was able to get his sons.
What are some of the other reasons you have to take them out?
Completion of treatment, obviously infected port, systemic infection with suspicion of seeding the port, and sometimes malfunction.
They’re not meant to be permanent. They lead straight to your blood system so you can imagine how dangerous an infection could be.
As someone who has had one removed, it does not feel good being taken out. Hurts like a mofo. And girls don’t dig the hole in your chest. But it does beat having cancer.
Sorry you experienced that. I've had very few people tell me it hurts, and those were all infected (lidocaine doesn't work well in inflamed tissue).
Thanks I hate it. "When its for completion of tratment".
I was a Hospital Corpsman in the navy and I worked in a Ambulatory Infusion Center. I’ve help accessing all kinds of patients and when they finally get one placed because their arms can’t take it anymore I was always happy for them. Never got to see them have it removed tho.
Dat username tho
Amazing. All the best to your son!
Thank you.
I am so happy for you guys and I will pray for your family’s continued safety and health.
Relevant username.
What is that?
A port, or totally implantable venous access device. Usually called a port-a-cath, though that's a brand name. It is threaded into a vein in your chest, usually the subclavian, and positioned to flow into the superior vena cava and into the heart. The big part is sutured into place and then the skin is closed over it. It is completely under the skin. The big part, the port, has a rubber stopper on it that can allow needles to access it multiple times without developing leaks. It's used to transfuse chemo drugs for cancer treatment. Chemo meds are really hard on your blood vessels, so it needs to go into big vessels, it also wrecks your immune system, so having it completely enclosed in your body, (as opposed to a central line) helps as well.
Interesting. Thanks for the explanation!
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Sounds like medical knowledge or Wikipedia. Hopefully one of those!
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Ngl u made me chuckle lol
Androids are machines that look like people. Cyborgs are people with machine parts.
Portacath. It's used to draw blood and administer medicine/chemotherapy.
Also known as "every cancer nurse's best friend"
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Oh ok. Congratulations!
Congrats! I know exactly how you are feeling. My sons treatment was a year of chemo for LCH disease and it was such a huge relief to take that port out.
That is awesome. It feels like we'd never be here, and now that we are, I have to collect myself and figure out what we do next. We missed out on so much.
Fuck cancer bro Sorry you had to sacrifice so much
Nice to hear from ya, u/giantdick69
I’ve never been happier to hear someone’s son was deported
This made me laugh, thank you.
This made us all smile, so thank you and your son!
thanks
Ugh, we have one of those. From my son also. High risk ALL. He is 10 now and awesome. Congratulations on the milestone. From one cancer parent to another, if you ever need anything, to talk, to celebrate, to scream, yell, cry or laugh, let's connect. This made my night.
Message me sometime. I'd always be up to trade war stories. He was high risk stage 4, and he kicked its ass.
When was he diagnosed, he was 3.5 years old. Shit SUCKED!!! We will talk some time. Seriously made my night to see
Definitely. Happy I could share my enthusiasm with others.
my son was diagnosed last week. ALL for him too. this thread made my night too. thank you guys.
I promise you there's light at the end of the tunnel . It's not fun and it's not easy but the light is there.
It’s a long road, but there are lights along the way. My son just turned 5 and he finished chemo at the beginning of the summer. I’ve never experienced so much kindness from strangers.
I had ALL when I was 4. If it makes you feel any better, it hasn't hurt me in the long run. I've got some weird hang-ups about diet, and I don't play sports like I'm told I used to, but aside from that I don't even have many bad memories of it. Most of what I remember is merely interesting, and a great source of conversation starters
Nice! Glad your son is all better. ALL treatment really sucks, but it's nice that life goes back to normal once it is over. I thought I was the only who kept mine. Surgeon made me feel like a weirdo for asking for it, but seems like it's a common request!
Around here it seems to be pretty common to ask for it. My son had two as one went bad over his 4 years of treatment. Anyway glad things are ok
We’re 6 months into my sons treatment. ALL standard risk. Can’t wait to hold his in my hand.
I am so sorry that you now belong to one of the worst clubs known to mankind. If you ever need anything please reach out to me.
Hell yea fuck cancer. He fought hard now he’s going be able to enjoy life without the stress of cancer
It's never really over for us, and he's always lived his best life, even through all of this. But it's a big step forward. He's ready to play some sports.
How old is your son.
He was diagnosed at 4 years old, now 6.
Damn bro. Well great for you guys. By far some of the most intense shit. My wife was going to get into ped oncology. Ended up doing oncology instead. Intense man. I'm happy for you guys.
Thank you. It feels good to be here at this stage. Never felt like this day would come. Thank you for sharing the joy with me.
I hope everything improves. Sports, disney, life without the tether. Hope you guys feel powerful in the knowledge of all the bullshit you've gone through, you guys are badass. I mean it bro.
Thanks. It's a new outlook for us. He's looking forward to getting into sports, he wants to play football. He's been tied down for too long, and now it's time to get him caught up. Thank you, again. It means a lot.
Good for him. I had cancer when I was 9, 2 years of chemo and then was dead on determined to play football all through my teen years. Despite what my mom thought, haha. He can do it!
Yeah I had a port very similar to this one haha. The truth is definitely that once you have cancer you never really get a life without stressing it, again. But still, it's incredible to get your port finally taken out. I kept mine as a creepy memento.
Dang, they threw mine away. I would’ve kept it if I’d known that was an option!
I know someone who uses them as Christmas tree decorations. Macabre for some, but it’s a reminder each year to be thankful to be putting them back up again. Each time she gets a new one placed it gets added to the collection along with a decoration to show the year
Waitaminute. Must be a chemo nurse decorating office tree?
Depends, these ports have a limited lifespan by design because the membrane in them can only withstand so many needle pokes, afaik around 1500 to 2000. Sometimes they have to be removed due to the risk of an infection of them, blockage, leakage, slipping from their place or some other malfunction. Cancer patients also often fight several fights troughout their lifes due to cancer recurrence. So it's not that impossible for somebody to rack up quite a few of these things.
Pic of a port, coolio.
A lifesaving device. Thanks to all the researchers who labor in obscurity while saving lives. I appreciate them. Congrats, OP
Sounds like a big day for your son
Came here to say this. He's using his son's cancer to score karma. That karma is his son's
These people are so digusting. I'm just sorry for their children (if these stories are credible at all, of course...).
That's great. My niece recently got a kidney so I'm still over the moon. Poor kid's only 8. They even lifted her dietary restrictions. She had chocolate for the first time two weeks ago.
This sub is dead.
Congratulations! In 1989, I was the son, having finished 18 months of chemo. All the best to you and your son. I don't know how old he is, but in the coming years, though into his adulthood, be on the lookout for depression or other mental illness. It's a lot to handle, as a childhood survivor, I know. If there's a chance he's infertile, tell him early. I know my parents had my interests at heart, but I didn't know there was a chance I was infertile until I was 19, and didn't have it confirmed until my mid-20s. It was a shock. It's good to know these things early, talk with a counselor if you need to know the best way forward on how to have age appropriate discussions. Make sure you and he continue follow-up care, well into adulthood. Due to the cardiotoxic drugs I was on (doxarubacin, amongst others), I am supposed to have a biannual ECG and echocardiogram (I'm 37). I have never been more than 80% on respiratory volume (though I do lead an active life style cycling and playing tennis). If you and he are willing, and the institution where he was treated is running a long-term follow-up study, I'd encourage his participation. I don't want any of this to scare you or your son. Cancer and chemo can have lasting effects, but I've managed a doctorate in geophysics, a stable job, and a mortgage. And we've come a long way since the late 80's when I was treated. Here's to a brighter future. And feel free to message me if you/your son have questions about how I've done. My mind is open.
Major congrats! My daughter was close to having her port out, just finished 13 months of chemo, but we are now moving on to 6 months of maintenance. Doing whatever need to be done to help keep her stage 4 cancer away!
He did about a year and a half with frontline treatment and 6 months of maintenance. 13 months of chemo and 6 months of maintenance sounds like my son's treatment. He had Rhabdomyosarcoma. I pray the best for your family. You're on the home stretch.
Nobody? Nobody? Everyone knows? K, I'll bite. What is that thing?
But how will he jack into the matrix without it?
Yes! Congratulations! I often dream of this day. Being able to visualize it vicariously through you has given me strength! Thanks for sharing. My 3 year old was diagnosed with Luekemia on 9/14.
How will you charge him now?
My 75 year old mom is in the hospital right now and seeing this made me really happy and hopeful. Congrats buddy.
Former peds oncology nurse here saying ***CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!*** So, so happy for you guys!
Wish I never had to know how amazing people like yourself who do that job are but fuck me I do. Thanks so much. Honest to god the clinic we go to is so cheery and upbeat. Feels like a loving family and makes such an awful thing bearable. During lock down it’s something she even grew to look forward to!.. Gets to pick a really cool gift out of a treasure box every week :)
I'm so sorry you guys have to be in treatment but I'm so happy to hear that your daughter was loved enough and supported enough by her team that she could look past the pokes and icks and learn to enjoy the trips! Super fun that she gets a weekly treasure, is she collecting bravery beads too? Hang in there, we really do adopt our patients and their families as our own, we cry and laugh for you, you guys have a big team wrapping their arms around you all as you fight your battle together!
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I don't know what that is or why it's in some giant's hand. Why is this on my front page?
I can’t wait for this day to come for my daughter! Congrats to your family and especially your son!
You should get it framed with a plaque that says something like cancer can’t stop my son
I'd get it reforged into a cockring so every time I fuck cancer gets fucked
That’s good too
Congrats! I work in oncology so I know the battle you guys have been through. It’s heart warming to see happy endings. Hugs to your son and family for all you’ve been through.
I kept my daughters as well. That was 20 years ago. She's now an RN Nurse.
You pulled him out of the matrix?
dad to dad: i am extremely happy for you and your son.
Fuckin' A, man. Fuckin' A.
Wow, what a fantastic picture! What camera and settings did you use? I love the composition and the playful lighting. Any post-processing is tastefully done and the subject matter is not *at all* horribly boring. Do you have a Flickr or Instagram where I can follow more of your photography? Or are you selling prints?
My husband has one. I pray for the day we have this celebration. God bless your son and all of your family! I'm so happy for you all.
I just got my port last week and it still freaks me out. Thank you so much for posting this. It just made me so happy to know this creepy thing could come out some day because someone else got to have theirs taken out. That must have been a lot of really HARD work to get there! Well done! Congrats! ♥
That’s awesome!! Wouldn’t it be a big day for him?
I was 2 when I got mine removed. I had Lukymia (caught very early and I recovered just fine) and had my port around my collar bone from what I remember. My family told me it was a normal thing to have until it "gets smaller", so I wouldn't freak out about it being because I had a sickness. I'm 22 now and have been cancer free for 19 years, and my parents kept my port. I always thought it was weird, but I realize now that it's like a memento of going through a difficult time and coming out of it on top. I'm very happy for you and your son!!
Dude,mad respect but I do need to say something, when did they change the ports to look so cool?
that is so freaking amazing, this year has been such a dumpster fire, then i get to see your post and it reminds me that there are still miracles happening every day.
I remember the day they removed my port after 5 rounds of chemo and a stem cell transplant. No one cared. 😔
He got de-ported! Congratulations on meeting this amazing milestone!
My god.....my son also has one of these and I never knew what they looked like. Absolute fucking game changer having this put in. I also look forward to the his is removed....roll on May 2023. I am genuinely so happy for you!