To Port or not to Port

An Infusion Port (also called a Port-a-Cath, Mediport, etc.) is a type of IV catheter, which is surgically implanted under your skin. It provides an entrance into your veins and arteries. Your infusion port allows medications or solutions to be given intravenously whenever needed.

Let’s talk past and present. On May 14th of 2008, I entered Brigham and Women’s hospital to have a dual-port placed for infusion use during chemotherapy.

This is a very minor and quick procedure. IV line placed in arm. Sedatives administered. X-ray. Ultrasound. Please hold your breath. Twenty minutes later. Please hold your breath….”You just asked me to do that?!” You are all done we just need a picture to make sure it is in right. “Oh, ok.” It’s that simple. Two days later I had my first chemotherapy and the rest is history.

The purpose for placing a port in my body instead of using a regular peripheral line in my arm is simple too. The chemotherapy regimen my body was about to endure would have stripped the veins in my arms. The ports would assure the poison would travel into a main artery and leave my veins useful for a later date.

I’ve had very few issues with these ports. Flushing with saline and heparin has never been a problem. Blood draws recently have taken a few minutes to start but then flow fine. And I have never experienced pain, until yesterday.

Please tune up the orchestra for the passing out ceremony. Port accessed…begin saline flushing…shooting pain up my neck…getting dizzy…going cold…sweat dripping…and…..WHAT HAPPENED?! That’s right. I passed out. I told the nurse I was going to and who am I break a promise. Here comes the wheelchair. Here comes a nice hospital bed. Here’s the question…what’s wrong with the frickin’ port?!

They try to access it again. Same pain, shoots straight up the right side of my neck. I don’t taste the saline and there is no blood return. At least the second time I didn’t pass out. So instead of a simple clinic visit, I get poked twice in the chest for no good reason except to cause a pain in my neck (no pun intended), poked once in each arm for blood cultures (necessary to have cultures from two different areas when checking for infections), had 2 chest X-rays (one to check the port and one to check for a respiratory infection) and a nasal washing (check for influenza and pneumonia, Dana Farber’s version of water boarding).

Being cancer free doesn’t mean stress free, pain free, or free from any normal sicknesses, viral infections, or flues that afflict everyone else. It just means I’m cancer free and still share everyone else’s problems. Please don’t welcome me to the club, I am charter member.

Here’s my update since Thanksgiving. Been fighting a viral infection resulting in two missed days with Gabe, one missed date, one clinic visit, one passing out, four placed IV lines, two chest X-rays, one nasal washing, one pain in my neck, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I know this is the time of year for giving, but really…Give me a Break!

Cheers