I’m scheduled to start chemotherapy soon &
I have opted to have a port placed. (Work reasons, big functions where most don’t know about my diagnosis, travel etc)
However I have been told that if I opt for the port vs PICC my chemotherapy will need to be delayed for 10 days to allow for healing.
I am worried about further delaying chemo & I have read a few instances where people can start chemo the day after the port is placed.
Anyone with experience with this? Is it standard to have to delay & does this affect prognosis?
I had my first chemo the day after my port was fitted. The radiologist left the needle in place so it didn’t have to be accessed again. All went well.
In the grand scheme of things a 10 day wait probably won’t make a difference to you, whereas I suspect the difference a port makes versus a PICC is immense.
Hi, I had my port fitted on the Tuesday morning and went straight to have my first chemo, however because they were so busy they just took blood in the end from it and I came back the next day for my chemo. No idea why you might have to wait. Hope all goes well for you. Take care.
Sunshine 21
I had a port fitted and was told it by surgeon it was ready for use next day, but then next day the chemo team fitted a cannula instead as port area had to heal for ten days they said. The week after I was allowed to use the port for chemo even though it was only 8 days but the nurse specialist checked it then and ok’ed it. Maybe they were extra careful as I was on taxol.
Could they give you Chemo through cannula while you wait for the port to be ready for use?
An implantable port allows chemotherapy drugs to be given directly into the port. The main advantage of a portacath is that you can’t see it on the outside of your body. You may want to discuss the position of the port with your doctor before it is put in and why they prefer to delay using the port.
Sometimes as @bettyb24, @Coddfish and @sunshine21mention the port can be used soon after it has been put in, while others want the area to heal before using the port as in @ChristineP22’s case.
Waiting 10 days for healing to take place is unlikely to affect your prognosis.
We offer a range of free supportive services for anyone who has had a diagnosis of breast cancer which you may be interested in including the Someone Like Me service that can match you with a trained volunteer who’s had a similar experience to you. You can also find people going through treatment at the same time as you on the chemotherapy monthly threads.
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