A portacath is a small chamber that sits beneath your skin, hooked up to a large vein on the right side of your chest. It can be used at many different points during treatment, but its most common uses include:
- Drawing blood
- Administering intravenous chemotherapy drugs
- Administering contrast dye before a CT scan
The idea of a portacath might seem alarming, but as Dr. Scott Rushing of Compass Oncology explains, for many women, it is actually “kind of a lifesaver.” That’s because when you use the smaller veins in your arms for chemotherapy, the veins can scar, making it harder to access them for blood draws and IVs. The portacath is somewhat of a “one-stop-shop” that takes the place of all of the multiple needle sticks you would have to have during the course of your diagnosis and treatment.
Read More- A small reservoir and diaphragm made out of special plastic or titanium
- A catheter that allows the chemo to exit back out of the body
“It ends up being less than half-a-day a the hospital, and patients go home afterwards,” Dr. Rushing said.
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