To PICC or not to PICC

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Dear All,
I wondered whether you might be able to offer some advice on behalf of my Mum. She has ovarian cancer and is being advised to have a PICC line put in for her chemo administration (she started on Thursday), to protect her veins from one of the particularly harsh drugs. Has anyone had a PICC line put in? If so it would be great to know advantages and disadvantages so she can make a balanced decision.
Many thanks,
Mema

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Hi mema

While you are waiting for other members to respond to your post I thought you may find it helpful to read through some of the comments on this thread:

breastcancercare.org.uk/community/forums/undergoing-treatment-chemotherapy/picc-line-0

Hope this helps

Very best wishes

Janet

BCC Moderator

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Thanks Janet. xx

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Hi Mena,

I have a PICC line and would recommend it. The fitting wasn’t painful, but I have to say it took a good 3 weeks for the discomfort to go. I felt I couldn’t do much with that arm for a while because movement caused bleeding at the entry site, but that is probably because I am on Clexane to stop my blood clotting so it took longer to heal than normal.

Having said all that, I am glad of it now. Chemo is easier and pain free because of not having to hunt for veins every time. But more importantly, as you said, I don’t have to worry about vein damage.

I wish you and your mum all the best.

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Yes!!! had my PICC line in since February. That was half way thru chemo. I’m now getting herceptin in it every 3 weeks til the end of December. I love it. No more needles. No stress worrying about taking blood or getting a cannula in.
Putting it in was I guess mildly uncomfortable. A bit bruised for a couple of days. But no problem at all since then.
Downside- no swimming. Have to cover up in the shower. Baths only with arm hanging over the side. And has to be flushed thru with saline and re-dressed weekly. I just pop in to my local GP surgery and a nurse there does it. You can have a district nurse come to your home to do it. I prefer to go in as makes me get up and out once a week.
So a big recomendation from me x

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Definitely recommend a picc line. I’m at the start of my chemo journey but now don’t have to worry about vein thrombosis or difficulties finding veins (mine are very shy). It is uncomfortable having it fittted but doesn’t really hurt, The benefits far outweigh anything detrimental. My OH flushes the line for me, it’s a bit fiddly at first but now it’s easy. Good luck x

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Thanks, catzooo - I was wondering about those of us who don’t have a willing and/or able OH to do the flushing! x

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Sorry Annie62, I should have said that my trust would have arranged for the DN to come and flush line if necessary, so that could be an option. I don’t think it’s easy to do it yourself. If OH couldn’t do it I have a number of friends who offered to do it for me (inc. 86 yr old ex-army nurse!).

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Hahaha. Yes you can train your other half to flush it. But mine is so ham fisted and the line is so delicate…

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Mine would faint… x