A Portacath is a thin, soft silicone tube with a small reservoir (port) attached to it. You can have chemotherapy and other drugs through the port. It can stay in place until all your chemotherapy treatment is finished. The port is inserted under the skin, usually on your chest and the attached tube goes into a vein near the heart.
You can see and feel a small lump (2 to 4cm) underneath your skin where the port is. A special needle is passed through your skin into the port to give you chemotherapy or other IV drugs, into the vein. The skin over the port can be numbed first so you don’t feel any discomfort.
