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I had no port
Hi,
You asked for report from those who had no ports, so I'm reporting in. I had A/C x 4 and Taxol x 4, every three weeks, plus multiple blood draws - lots of extra ones because my WBC's kept tanking and at that time, they gave Neupogen rather than the one-dose Neulasta, so they titrated the daily injections depending upon frequent lab results. No Herceptin. Only one arm was available for labs and chemo administration, due to axillary dissection (x2) and lymphedema in the cancer-side arm.
My labs and chemo were done using the same hand/wrist veins most of the time, and there were no problems. Only a few times required two sticks. Most of the time it was one stick only. I had not normally (before cancer) had an easy time with blood draws (from the antecubital/elbow site), but the hand/wrist veins behaved well throughout chemo.
That was 7 years ago - and no one has been able to get blood from the veins above the wrist since then. They appear to be fine but are apparently permanently scarred from the chemo because they just don't provide blood when even the most-expert lab techs try to access them. They always end up back at the hand or wrist to get blood, and that goes fine.
My choice not to get a port at the time of chemo was based mostly on my desire to keep things as simple as possible. Ports are handy, but not without the potential for problems. My choice worked for me. However, I did not get Herceptin, so I was finished after the 32-or-so weeks of chemo. But every three week Herceptin after chemo's done should not be that difficult. Plus the frequent blood draws are not required during Herceptin.
If you have bad veins already, including hand/wrist - it's a no-brainer. Get a port. If not - I think it's reasonable to give it a try without a port.
Debbie Laxague
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