Power Port

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Today I got my portacath placed. The port is a small medical appliance that is installed beneath the skin, in my case an inch or so below my right clavicle. A catheter then connects the port to a vein in my neck. Under the skin, the port has a septum through which my chemo drugs can be injected and blood samples can be drawn many times with less discomfort than a more typical needle stick (which is particularly uncomfortable for me and my tricky veins). It will stay in place for the next year; at the completion of my treatment I'll need another surgery to take it out. 

I was under twilight sedation for the procedure, which took about an hour. I thought "twilight" meant that I'd be pretty out of it, but I was actually very aware of everything that was happening, even from under the paper tent that they placed over my head. There was little pain, but I could feel the very strange sensation of the catheter being snaked up to my neck from my chest. Dr. Kee, the interventional radiology surgeon who placed my port, worked very quietly and hummed a little tune at the end.

The brand name of my portacath is Power Port, which I like quite a lot - it makes me feel less like a cancer patient and more like an X-Man.

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