UPDATE - All about the chemo port

UPDATE: Discharge instructions after port placement say it's OK to remove the outer dressing. I cannot get an edge started by myself, so I've texted both sons, saying one of you needs to come by after work and get these off me--y'all talk and decide which one. It will be taken care of, I have no doubt.

I'm on my 3rd 28-ounce mug of water for today. I have not had any hot tea--not sure why, but I haven't wanted any. Possibly the lack of interest in food/drink that accompanies chemotherapy.

Slept from around 10:30 p.m. til 4:30 a.m. the longest span of time I've slept in I don't know how long.

Still no nausea, yea! One mouth sore at the back right side of my tongue--rats. Made a recommended mouth rinse of a quart of water, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder. It does make my mouth more comfortable.

My goal now is to build up my stamina, walking. So, I've been out in the shade on the narrow sidewalk on the north side of the building and walked five times for about 10 minutes each time. I'm setting the timer on my phone to go off so that I don't forget to give it a go. One time I walked inside the building, too, up the stairs to the top floor which is only 15 more steps up, then back down, but every step is one in the right direction. With those pinpointed walks and the regular around-the-apartment steps, I'm up to 3,549 today which is right at three times my daily average in August. I'm back, cautiously, listening to my body, one hundred percent.

I am blessed. Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



This is a photo of the port from the Patient Guide that they gave me when I was all done on Wednesday. Dr. Klein showed me one beforehand, and described in detail exactly what he would do and why. He's the same guy who did the needle biopsy--I really like him a lot!



When I go back for Chemo Round Two on August 19, I'll have that sort of needle inserted into my port so that the chemo will get inside me through it. No need to be stuck here and there, trying to find a vein. In fact, on August 18, when I go to have pre-chemo blood work done, they will get the blood out of the port--at least, that's what I've been told. I hope it's the truth.



Here's one of the places that I've been told about the uses of the port. I like that part about being less harmful to my veins. After all, they're 67 and a half years old, like the rest of me.



I felt the three bumps on the sample port that Dr. Klein showed me. I have not felt the bumps on mine because I cannot get the outer dressing off by myself. Like I said earlier in the post, one of my sons will come over in the next few hours and help me remove them. 



More detail about accessing the port. These folks have steady hands. 



My port incision and the other one needed during the placement procedure have been glued shut, after stitches. The stitches will dissolve and the glue will turn into a scab which will eventually come off. That's what the glue did for the six incisions I had after the robot surgery on June 25.



I have my Identification Card in my coin purse, along with my Kaiser Insurance card. I'm not wearing that bracelet because it will get in the way of my acupressure motion sickness bracelets. I slipped the cardboard key ring card onto my key chain--I wonder if it will last throughout this process since my keys get a work out whenever I go anywhere, tucked into my waistband or a pocket or my purse.