[Laurel]

Amy,

It is time for my "port story." Feel free to pull up a chair, grab a cold one, settle in, friends.

When I was newly diagnosed I found it all a bit incomprehensible that I, a woman who faithfully had her mammograms, would present with a small invasive tumor that required CHEMO and something called Herceptin for a year! I really thought all these fine medical-type people were barking mad! They wanted to begin infusions just as soon as I could have my "port" (isn't that a wine?) placed which involved a small surgery. Problem was that there was no available time for weeks out and I knew I would chicken out if I had weeks to contemplate the horror pf chemo. I really was on the fence about doing it, so I prayed a little old "fleece" prayer saying, "ok, Lord, if I really need chemo then let me be called today to have this port placed tomorrow!" Alright, probably not the best prayer, but you know how it is when you are really desperate and raw with fear, and besides, I was pretty sure that it was a tall order and I would not be subjecting myself to this chemo-crap.

Have you guessed the rest? Yep, it wasn't a half hour later that the same nurse who had just told me it would be weeks before there was an opening called to say that I would "never believe this" but someone had just called to cancel and I could have my port placed the next morning! She was thrilled. I wasn't. All I could think was that I really did need chemo. Sobering. I acquiesced.

Early the following morning I was on a gurney waiting to meet my surgeon and scared ----less. In strolls this young thang that looked to be all of 15 and a serious Doogie Howser look-alike. Panic! So what do you think I asked young-thang? I demanded to know just how many port placements he had performed, to which he replies, "oh, about 700." Seven hundred? Seriously? There are that many people in Central Pa needing mediports that this kid could be placing 700 of them while still in diapers? Well, that cracked me up and I told him he was hired!

The whole procedure was brief from my perspective having slept through it entirely. The soreness was minimal and it functioned well throughout my treatment. I was glad I had it placed, and oddly, it helped to boost my confidence in my medical team, something I badly needed.

I suggest you schedule your placement and inquire how many ports the young-thang who appears from around the curtain has installed. Then offer to burp him and send him off to scrub up for your surgery!

Good luck!
Laurel