I struggled with this issue, too. I had my port placed at the same time that I had my Mast. thus not getting an additional scar by having the port placed at a later time. After I finished treatment and was NED I had real difficulty "letting go" of my port...as if I would jinx myself. I needed to make a decision because my reconstructive surgery was coming up where they remove the expanders and put in the saline implants....I could have the port removed during that surgery avoiding scaring once again. I talked with my Onc. and he encouraged me to have it removed so I could "move on" with my life. And, worst case senario, if I needed it again I could always get another one. That is what I elected to do. It has been a year and I'm still NED. (I was Stage IIIA, 10 of 20 lymph nodes positive at DX so have a high chance of reoccurance.) In retrospect I think, for me, it WAS good psycologically. Although I have to admit I was very nervous the first 6 months. I had tumor markers done every three months for the first year and they stayed low so I had that for reassurance. I hope this has been of some help...ultimatly it comes down to what you are comfortable with doing. Take Care, Linda
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