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Let me add my vote in favor of ports! I have had impossible rolling inaccessable veins all my life, and my port is such a blessing I hope I never have to take it out. It is small, in my left chest just below the clavicle, hardly visible. It was put in in July of 2004 after a couple of weeks in the hospital from a heart attack and cancer mets to the lungs. By the time it was put in I was black and blue all over from nurses trying to draw blood. I have blood work once a month now that I am NED and only on zometa, but had triple bypass heart surgery in May and was so thankful for my port. The nurses at the heart hospital didn't want to use the port, but I told them to give me back my clothes and I would go home if they didn't, so they found someone to access it and used it all the time I was in the hospital, even during surgery. It always works, I rarely feel anything. I do have one vein on my right upper wrist that the EMT's found and it is usable for tests like CTs ,PETs and MUGAs when they have to use a vein. Otherwise I go to the chemo lab for all other blood tests through the port, no matter what doctor prescribes them. I highly recommend a port to save the veins from chemo damage, even if you have good veins. Good luck and hugs! Tricia
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