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Jill is almost 3/4 through her year of chemo and herceptin. Since she had lymph nodes removed, she cannot have any IVs on her R arm. She decided to have a port inserted. I am assuming you are looking at an IVAD port inserted in your upper chest.
Not only is it less painful to get treatments and blood draws (she is really wimpy about needles) but it keeps her veins healthy should anything need done in her "good" arm sometime in the future.
You can also ask for a lidocaine topical cream if you are really wimpy and don't want to feel the needle. She just rubs some over the port about 45 min before her infustion and says she does not feel the needle at all.
She had to have her first port replaced soon after insertion due to a problem with the incision area, but the second is holding up so far.
You will have a scar about 1 to 1 1/2 inches where the port is inserted. It can be inserted as an outpatient procedure so you will be home the same day. Make sure you get a dual port model. Even with the problems with the first port, it appears to be a good choice. Other people we have met have had their ports for several years (hope you do not need yours very long).
Good luck!
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