I have had my port for over 5 years now, apparently the life span of them is supposed to be 5 years, they are usually made of titanium so they don't set off metal detectors and safe for MRI's. They can't be used for nuclear scans where they put the dye in because they can blow them apart then they have to find the bits in your system, I was bummed out when I heard that, I thought yippee no more canulas but no so, but mine has always worked well and flushed back beautifully, mine also protrudes out of my chest and the skin over it is very thin, not a pretty site, the nurse just says a bit of pressure and it is in, I have one who insists on inserting the line in a different spot, apparently so as not wear the other out, news for her, she does hurt so I tell her to put it in the usual spot. Usual procedure is if they are not accessed regularly then have it flushed once a month so the vein doesn't get blocked. The other problem is the chemo nurses don't like anyone else accessing the port because sometimes bacteria may be on the surface if they are not careful and it then gets into your blood stream so you will feel unwell pretty quickly, nothing a course of anti-biotics won't fix but it is scary watching someone go through this, it frightened my other half that much when it happend to a patient that he won't go with me anymore, typical male, apologies to our male family here on the board but lets face it men are from mars.
Love & Hugs Lyn
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