Having pump turned off at home by nurse experiences?

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Hi all, 

I am having my second round of chemotherapy tomorrow, Folfox, and wanted to see if anyone had any experiences with having their chemotherapy pumps turned off at home after they've finished instead of going back to hospital after two days. 

When I first met my chemotherapy nurse she was talking about the possibility to have the 5fu pump turned off at home by a nurse from a company they outsource this to. She mentioned it comes with pros and cons, as does everything, but one of the cons would be that you can't control what time the nurse shows up and that they often forget to bring one of the things that they are supposed to flush the portacath with - can't remember what it is but it's to prevent blood clots etc. So she was against it. 

When I showed up for my first chemo the week after all the nurses were asking if I was set up to have the port removed at home. Which I'm not. They all seemed very confused by it and made it seem like it's unusual to come back to them to have it turned off. (They're all brilliant and super friendly so nothing bad). 

This made me wonder if I should consider using this service or just leave it as it is. The big plus is that it would save my boyfriend a lot of money on the black cab journeys, but he says he doesn't mind it as long as I'm getting the treatment I need. 

I'm at the HCA Private Care at Guy's Cancer Centre in London if anybody has had any experiences with them in regards to this. 

Thank you and all the best, 

Em x

  • Hi

    I noticed that no one from this group has replied to you yet but can see that you've had replies to the same post in the bowel cancer group. I don't know if you've seen them yet but, if not, clicking here will take you to them.

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  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to latchbrook

    Hello Missem, I am having Folfirinox chemo @ Addenbrookes in Cambridge. I wasn't offered removal of the bottle @ home. The chemo is every fortnight (always on a Saturday, even over bank holiday weekends) & I return on Monday to have the bottle removed. I don't mind as I can get there at the moment & also they dress my 'pickline' @ the same time. On the alternate Monday when I don't have the bottle I still have to go in to have my bloods taken to make sure I'm well enough for the next chemo session & again I have the 'pickline' dressed. It suits me  @ the moment.