[Mary Jo]

Believe it or not, I did 8 rounds of chemo, bi-weekly and 1 year of herceptin with no port, using only my left arm. Call me stubborn (with a capital S) but I didn't want a port. I felt like I was giving in by getting one and told my onc. that although I was fighting chemo, I'd do that but would not do the port. She agreed and said some women do that and the chemo nurses would let me know if I'd need one. I never did. Although, looking back, I realize how much easier and less stressful having a port would have been. As you can see, I had a hard time accepting what I was about to go through back then.