Port Care at Home During Cancer Treatment

If you or someone you care for has an implanted port for cancer treatment, this page explains how it works and how to look after it at home. It also covers the warning signs that mean you should call your care team or get emergency help.

MedlinePlus describes an implanted port as three joined parts. First, the portal or reservoir: "a pouch made of hard metal or plastic." Second, the silicone top, "where a needle is inserted into the portal." Third, the catheter, a thin tube that "carries medicine or blood from the portal to a large vein and into the heart."

The whole device sits under closed skin. The catheter tip ends "at the right side of your heart (right atrium)." Most ports go in the chest, though MedlinePlus notes they "may also be placed in the arm." After healing, "you will be able to feel and see a quarter-sized bump under your skin where your port is."

That closed skin is the reason ports are easier to live with than a line hanging out of your chest. When no needle is in, there is nothing to snag and no dressing to guard.

Accessing a port means pushing a needle through skin and through the silicone top. MedlinePlus says "a trained provider will stick a special needle" through both layers, and that "a numbing cream can be used on your skin to decrease the pain of the needle stick."

If you feel every access, say so. Ask about numbing cream and when to put it on.

A port that is not flushed can clot shut. MedlinePlus tells patients that "about once a month, you will need to have your port flushed to help prevent clots."

The interval, the solution and the exact volumes are not the same for every port. So the numbers that matter are the ones written on your own order.

One technique point is worth knowing. Push in bursts. MedlinePlus puts it plainly: "Do a little, then stop, then do some more." Ask your nurse to show you the syringe size and steps for your own port.

For multi-day infusions the needle stays taped in place. Now you do have a dressing. Ask your nurse how often it is changed and how to keep it dry. Tell them right away if it gets damp, loose, or dirty.

MedlinePlus says that "when your port is not being used, you can bathe or swim, as long as your provider says you are ready for activity." Contact sports need specific clearance.

Some families are taught to flush at home; many are not, and that is fine. If you are, MedlinePlus gives the frame.

Wash your hands "for 30 seconds with soap and water," including between fingers and under nails. Confirm the syringes are what was ordered. Saline syringes are usually clear and heparin syringes are usually yellow. MedlinePlus tells you to "make sure the strength and dose are correct" and to check the expiration date. Unclip the clamp. Wipe the end of the catheter with an alcohol wipe before attaching the syringe, and again after. Push in bursts. Put the clamp back on the catheter when you are done.

One rule has no exceptions. If it will not flush, MedlinePlus says: "Do not force it. Call your provider if it is not working."

Both main sources use the same fever number: 100.4°F (38°C). MedlinePlus lists fever as a reason for port patients to contact their provider right away. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says during chemotherapy to "call your doctor immediately if you have a temperature of 100.4ºF (38ºC) or higher." One reading at that number is enough. If your team gave you a lower number, use theirs.

• Call 911 or go to an emergency department if you become short of breath, lightheaded, or get chest pain during or just after a flush, or if the skin over the port opens and the device is exposed. Tell the staff that you have an implanted port, and whether you are on chemotherapy. Do not drive yourself.
• Ring your care team the moment the thermometer reaches that number, day or night, if you are having chemotherapy. Fever during chemotherapy is a medical emergency in CDC's guidance. If nobody answers quickly, go to an emergency department and tell them you have an implanted port and are on chemotherapy.
• Call your care team right away, at any hour, if the port or needle site is red, swollen, warm, or stays sore after the needle comes out, or there are red streaks around it (CDC). Call right away, too, for yellow or green drainage, new pain over the port, or a port that looks or feels as if it has moved under the skin. The same goes for swelling or leaking of fluid around the site while it is being used, and for a port that will not flush, will not give a blood return, or cannot be reached with the special needle. Do not force a blocked catheter while you wait (MedlinePlus).
• Call your care team right away, at any hour, if you reach the fever number above when you are not currently having chemotherapy, or you feel hot and shivery with no thermometer to hand. MedlinePlus lists fever with a port as a reason to contact your provider right away. CDC gives 100.4°F (38°C) or higher as the number. If you are on chemotherapy, chills or sweats also mean call right away, even with no thermometer to hand (CDC).

Which brand and model is my port, and is it power-injectable for CT scans? Am I on saline-only locking or saline plus heparin, and at what strength? What is my flush interval between treatment cycles? Who flushes it if I am traveling? Do I need numbing cream, and can you send it to my pharmacy? What number do I call after hours?

Write the answers on the port ID card and keep it in your wallet. Radiology, urgent care, and any hospital you land in will all want it.

See also Practical Help for Caregivers and Managing Medications as a Caregiver.

• https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000491.htm
• https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000157.htm
• https://www.cdc.gov/cancer-preventing-infections/patients/fever.html