Port Begone!

Tomorrow's a big day: I'm having my port taken out! The procedure should be easy and relatively quick, but I can't say I'm not a little nervous about going to the hospital in the morning. It'll be interesting though. I've had this port in for two years now. And with the swell of steroids gradually wearing off, my port became more apparent, so I've had this obvious bump on my chest. But it won't be simply a physical change - there's a psychological piece too. My port is really the last remnant of my leukemia. Like being bald, or getting the steroid moon-face, this port was yet another item on the list of physical changes my body had to go through as a result of my cancer. And now, just as my hair has grown back and my body has shrunk, the port is finally coming out. For two years I've had this device implanted in my chest, I've been able to feel the bump of the port, trace the catheter going over my collar bone and into a vein. Even without the port though, my chest will remain the battlefield, with scars and pock marks marking the incisions, the ports, the tubes that helped me beat A.L.L. The port might be gone, but I of course will never forget.