The beveled tip of a Huber needle will not remove a core of silicone from your port—this prevents a chunk of silicone or skin from lodging in your catheter line (an all-too-common complication) and makes your port last longer. Dr. Ralph L. Huber, a dentist, designed the sharp, beveled, directional needle tip and Dr. Edward B. Tuohy, an anesthesiologist, refined it for use in spinal catheters.
It’s a good idea to ask your infusion nurse for the length and gauge of Huber needle that works best with your port and keep this information in your health notebook. If you visit a different clinic or hospital, this information may save you some pain and prevent multiple needle sticks. Even if you receive all of your infusions at the same cancer center, you will likely be seeing different infusion nurses. In a perfect world, a new nurse might know exactly which size and gauge needle works best for you, but that’s not always the case in real life. It pays to take an active role in your cancer care, even in these small details, and to ask about the needle at the start of each and every time your port is accessed.
If you want to prevent the pain of a needle stick, use some “scream cream”—a term nurses often use for Lidocaine gel or Emla cream. Once your needle is in place in your port, don’t rock or twist it, because that will damage the silicone septum. Since lidocaine gel, creams, or patches can take 30 minutes or so to be fully effective, it’s important to talk to your nurse before your infusion. Your clinic may have you apply a patch, cream, or gel 30 minutes to 60 minutes before your appointment so that your infusion can be started promptly when you arrive. (Your oncologist may give you a prescription, but many of these products are available over-the-counter as well.)
As we hear about medical errors in medicine, knowing your needle and how to care for yourself during and after chemotherapy is one way in which you can be your own advocate in your cancer care.
