Should my mum have a portacath placed ?? Scared

Hi Sara9, sorry to hear of your mums diagnosis. I had an arm Portacath fitted. My veins would not have stood up to all the cannula time I would have had.  It wasn’t done in a theatre as such it was done in a large room. After signing all the consent forms I laid on a bed with my arm out to the side. The dr numbed it really well and I felt nothing. She made 2 tiny incisions and fed the extremely thin catheter in and along to the top of my heart (a special machine is place on your chest it’s very light and it helps to determine the end of the catheter so it’s in the right place.)You dont even feel them feeding the catheter in as it’s inside the vein. They then connect the little well (which is where they will access the port) just under the skin and put in a couple of stitches and it’s done. The little well is accessed by the chemo nurses via a small needle and bloods can also be taken from it. I found it to be a great thing. You have to keep it covered when showering until it’s healed. They give you a sleeve to go over it. You can feel it if you touch it but other than that I don’t notice mine. I’ve had it since December 2022. 
As mine was an arm Portacath I was ok and didn’t need sedation. I just tried to watch. I dont know what it’s like to have a chest Portacath but hopefully someone will be along soon to let you know on that. It was only a little sore for the first few hours but paracetamol was on hand if I needed it. 
Wishing your mum all the best

Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x

Has she been offered a PICC line at all?  

I have a chest portacath and to be honest I found the procedure fairly intrusive as they also go into a vein in your neck.

Hi I had a port fitted it was an uncomfortable but relatively painless what made it easier was the person talking to me whilst I had it done.  Your mum could also take a pre med if Drs are ok with that. If she doesn’t want to go into theatres then look into having a

picc line in as that is done in clinic. 
Claire 

 cuffcake2000 thank you for your response. If you don’t mind me asking, is there a particular reason to why you had an arm portacath fitted as opposed to a chest portacath? 
also is the arm portacath similar to the chest portacath in the sense that it is under the skin and doesn’t have anything visible on the surface of the skin? If that makes sense  

also when having treatment, did you find when the nurses access the portacath that it was any more/less painful than being cannulated? I think my mums treated fear is it being more painful than what she already goes through being cannulated and also the idea of having a somewhat foreign device in her body

 MrsP2003 yes my mum was offered a PICC like however on one arm her veins were not big enough which meant if it was placed she could have a higher risk of developing a blood clot. And on the other arm the PICC like would not go all the way as she had surgery (lumpectomy) and so they had to retract it. 

how did you find the chest portacath after the procedure? Would you say it is painful, do you notice it much? And how do you find having chemo via the portacath? 

 Dc6 yes she was unable to have a PICC line due to her veins being too small for it. She has been offered alternatives, obviously one being the portacath as it seems to be the most ‘hidden’ one out of them all because my mum doesn’t want anything left dangling on the surface. I find with my mum even if a procedure is considered relatively painless, she feels things a lot. Some may refer to it as her having a low pain tolerance but I don’t like that phrase because her pain is definitely real, and I believe some of us feel like more than others I don’t know how else to describe it, but because she feels things maybe more than others it makes her feels more anxious and scared. 

how do you feel now with your port? Does it ever bother you or get it the way of anything? Is it painful when you have blood drawn or treatment through it? 

Hi Sara9, my hospital did both options but my oncologist recommended the arm port for me as when we discussed it i was quite worried about having it in my chest.  I was scared about having something like that in my body, but honestly you don’t feel it and I wouldn’t know it was there. Yes it’s the same as the chest one and is hidden just under the skin. The advantage of having it is you don’t have anything hanging out the body like with a PICC line, it only has to be flushed through every 12 weeks but a PICC line is every week. When the nurses access it, it’s very easy as they are not having to find a vein. The needle goes straight into the little well that’s under the skin. To be honest I don’t even feel the needle go in it’s so much quicker than being cannulated. I only had one arm they could use as I had an axillary clearance in the other. I have to admit I love my Portacath and I’ll be sad when they have to remove it. I’ve even named it portie. It’s been so good having it. I think my arm would have looked like a pin cushion without it. 
If you think of any other questions just ask

Wishing you and your mum all the best.

Hugs from cuffcake. 

Hi Sara9. Sorry to hear of the issues your mum is having with her veins. I have a portacath in my chest, just below my shoulder just above my unaffected breast. I found the procedure to put it in ok. I was given the choice to be sedated which I took. So I was awake and could hear what was going on but drowsy enough to be uninterested in what was happening.

Once in it took a while to get used to. I wouldn't say it was painful just slightly uncomfortable but I have got used to it. I am conscious of it especially if it getting accidentally touched but certainly manageable. Now I even feel comfortable to touch the skin over it without being creeped out by it which I wouldn't have thought I would have done at the start.

When the nurses use it to get blood or give treatment it is slightly painful when they put the needle in. It is hard to describe but as they get access straight away I feel it is better than multiple attempts to get a vein. My nurses are very good at getting me to take a deep breath when the put the needle in which I think helps.

I decided to have a portacath as my hubby is very squeamish about needles and we both felt a picc line with things dangling off me was something we would have found hard to deal with. 

I am now a year on from insertion and yesterday agreed a date to have it removed and weirdly I am going to miss it. 

I found the procedure to insert it ok - like others I was awake but "distracted" by the nurse.

The first few days were difficult,  I found it hard to move my neck.  I did initially regret the procedure as it wasn't a good few days.  Personally I actually had more pain than I had after my breast surgery - but I accept that's not everyones experience.  However, having chemo was incredibly easy and the nurses kept telling me how much they love ports.

My Mum has the same issue as your Mum - when she needs to be canulated they make an appointment with the vascular team a few minutes in advance and they use ultrasound to find the vein & access - that really helps.

Hi Sara9

i had a picc line inserted in my arm like cuffcake2000 I had no problem at all I was glad I had it put in no problems looking for veins when having treatment .so much easier