Okay, explain the whole port thing to me.

My friend (who was undergoing chemo), and was anorexic, well, they couldn't use her veins so they tried to put in a port. But the port didn't take. I have no idea what this means, because they stopped the chemo, because she refused to eat. Anyway, she has passed on now and is in a better place.

But I remember when they hospitalized her to put in the port and it didn't take.

So I gather a port is a place (that if you have infusions weekly or whatever), that they don't have to repeatedly stick you in your vein, right??

Last week, before my husband's visiting nurse came over, she phoned me up and one of the questions she asked me was "Does your husband have a permanent device"??? I then said "oh, you mean, does he have a port, or heplock thing?? and she said "exactly" and I said "no". She said fine.

When Alan was getting two infusions a month, the nurse would use a heplock so the next day when she came, it was right there in his arm.

I'm not familiar with ports. Does it stick out of your body?? I mean, if you were to expose the area, do you then go "oh, there's a port??"

just curious. I want to have all my eggs in a basket, just in case my hubby ever needs one of these things.

Thanks, Mel

P.S. If you have a port, and it's a place where the infusion person just has to put the needle in, then why do you have to rub EMLA creme over it?

See where I'm confused.

Does your port area get sore or something??

Thanks Mel