PORT SURGERY
A port is a small disc made of plastic or metal about the size of a quarter that sits just under the skin. A soft thin tube called a catheter connects the port to a large vein. Your chemotherapy medicines are given through a special needle that fits right into the port. You also can have blood drawn through the port (breastcancer.org).
The port will stay in place until all your chemotherapy treatment is finished. A nurse or doctor will insert your port, usually using a local anaesthetic. They insert the port under the skin, usually on your chest, and the attached tube goes into a vein near the heart (medlineplus.gov).
The idea behind the port is so that you do not have so much wear and tear on your veins – being that you may receive many chemotherapy treatments and blood draws during your cancer treatment.
The surgery for this was quite short and painless. It is a little awkward having the port protruding from your chest, but not too obvious.
Before and after chemotherapy treatment, and blood draws, a nurse will need to flush your port. Flushing your port is when a syringe is used to push a small amount of liquid into the port and catheter. This liquid may be saline (sterile salt water), heparin (blood thinning medicine), or both.
The port will then be removed once all chemotherapy treatments are done and leaves a small scar. Again, the surgery was quick and painless.
WIGS
I went to a few local wig shops to try on wigs - I wanted to walk away with two I was happy with. This was the fun part- but I have to warn you that these wigs are really expensive. I would recommend looking online. Be prepared to spend anywhere from $100-$500.
Here's some resources for wigs:
This ended up being my favorite of them all - looks completely natural, right!?
The hat was great because the hair just came out of the sides so your head stayed pretty cool. That was integral to me living in Florida.
