My Port Removal. A Great Day In My Cancer Journey.

 

What is a port:

A port, also known as a venous access device, is a catheter inserted into a vein and then tunneled under the skin. A needle can be inserted into the port to give treatments or draw blood. 

This morning, after many delays, appointments and then cancellations, 

I finally had my infusion port surgically removed. 

When I asked the nurse how many removals do they do a day, she responded 'not many.

 They usually do more insertions than removals. 

The reason why a person gets a port in the first place is for cancer treatments. Apparently when you have to undergo treatment for several months to several years at a time for cancer drug injections, the medical profession prefers that a port is inserted into a patients chest so that the infusions (and two blood transfusions!!) can pass directly into your heart. Yeah, I know. It's NOT a pretty picture. You have to live with this foreign plastic item implanted inside your body for a long, long time. Infection is a problem and of course, mine did get infected BUT they were able to correct it with antibiotics.

When you have your port removed, it usually means you have been deemed cancer free and in no more need of any more chemo drug infusions. So, it's a very happy day for me! For now, my breast cancer is gone. A PET scan revealed no other cancer has been found in my body. BUT, cancer cells are microscopic, can travel throughout your body undetected and just to be on the safe side, I have to orally take a drug, Letrozole (click here), for the next five to ten years in hope that the cancer never comes back! Yup. You read that right. Thankfully, my drug insurance for this prescription only costs me $5 per month. That means I can possibly ward off cancer cells for only $60 a year. What a bargain. I pray to God every single second of the day that this cancer NEVER comes back. If it does, my oncologist told me it will come back in either my brain or my lungs (or some other vital organ) and it will be Stage IV (Four). Not a good future prognosis, I would say, right? Nonetheless, I will forge ahead, appreciate each and every day the Good Lord gives me and hopefully enjoy the rest of my life with my husband, my friends, my family and my precious little doggie.

My poor, getting older, body. It's been through a lot BUT as of yet, hasn't failed me.  

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