Cancer – Chemo Ports

Transcript

If you’re getting chemotherapy, you may be asked about port placement and what a port is. It’s a device that basically allows you to have chemotherapy delivered in a way that doesn’t have to access your veins. So the concept is the same whether you get an IV or a port. You’re dumping the chemo in and having it go to your heart. Well, a port under your skin is accessed and they put the chemo in, and instead of having the risk of it leaking or burning your skin, what we call extravasate, it’s going to put the chemotherapy right above the right side of your heart. It’s a way of giving chemo for people that are on maintenance therapy for usually stage four cancers, where they’re going to need access regularly, or some very high dose regimens that are usually on a three week schedule, it may be safer to put a port.