Today I had a port implanted under the skin on my chest for chemo, which will start on Wednesday (10/28/20) this week.
A chemo port is a small, implantable reservoir with a thin silicone tube that attaches to a vein. The main advantage of this vein-access device is that chemotherapy medications can be delivered directly into the port rather than a vein, eliminating the need for needle sticks. The port is about the size of a quarter. A soft tube called a catheter connects it to a large vein into my heart . Medicine and fluids injected into the port flow from this vein into my heart for most efficient flow into my bloodstream.
This means I can get chemotherapy without having an IV placed in a vein for each treatment. And since most blood tests can be drawn from the port, I won’t need constant needle pricks in my arm throughout the coming months. A port is also less likely than an IV to leak medicine that can damage my skin and other tissues.
It hurts a bit as I recover this eve. But to be honest, the surgery pain does not hurt as much as the fear of what is to come later this week…month…year. So, I’m leaning in to the fight – not the fright…I’ve got this!
I’ll post an update after chemo gets started. Thanks to all of you for your Love and support. ~Beven