Iv lines, blood tests

Hi Laylas

Thank you for getting in touch. I’m Emma, one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line. Welcome to the online community. I can see you have joined the cervical cancer forum, and I hope you find this supportive.

I’m sorry to hear how much difficulty you have been experiencing during blood tests and cannulation. It’s good that the hospital is using ultrasound to try to improve this experience for you, although it sounds that you are having ongoing distress despite this.

Keeping well hydrated can help, as can keeping warm prior to your appointment – such as wearing gloves or asking the unit if they can warm your hands and arms beforehand. If they are not already doing so, it may be worth asking if the unit can use smaller gauge needles

I can understand your question of whether a PICC line would be possible to make this a less anxious experience for you. Usually a PICC line would be used when cannulas are needed on a regular basis, such as having intravenous therapy, and the hospital will often have guidelines for this.

Unfortunately, even in the event of having a PICC line, these are not usually offered for CT scans, as not all contrast can be given this way because there can be risk of damage to the line. If a dye is required, then radiography staff will need to use a cannula.

As part of your care, your clinical trials team will be part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT), which will often include radiologists. A radiologist may be best placed to look at the risks and benefits for you of having a PICC line for scans, with regards to the type of contact used and whether this would affect the quality of your scans. It may be helpful to have the opportunity to speak with someone about this.

Laylas, speaking with your trials nurse or consultant about how this is making you feel is important. Particularly as due to your experiences, it is causing anxiety for your future appointments. I wonder whether some emotional support in managing this anxiety may be helpful, as well as talking through whether there is any further intervention the team may be able to recommend.

I hope you find this information helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact again if we can support you further.

Best wishes

Emma

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7days a week from 8am – 8pm) or email us.

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