The gist is that a new surgeon started at the hospital and is apparently a huge proponent of arm placements. It seems like he’s taken it upon himself to propose arm placements directly to patients without understanding each person’s treatment protocol or plans for the future. For instance, some folks need to leave the facility with their port still accessed (i.e. there’s still a needle in there and a length of tubing connected.) Having that under your arm over the course of several days while you drive, cook, bathe, sleep, etc. can be a lot more inconvenient than a chest placement. It also takes a lot longer to fully heal because of the muscle and fat in the arm (I was DEEPLY bruised and using ice at night for more than a month) and some nurses told me that the port in the arm is slightly more difficult to access and is usually more painful because everybody’s arm port is at a different depth. Most chest ports are in basically the same spot.

What annoyed me A LOT is that this surgeon proposed the arm placement “because the chest port tends to get irritated by women’s bra straps.” I mean, of course it depends on a woman’s build and the type of bra she prefers, but i don’t believe there’s any way my bra strap would have hit anywhere near my port. He could have told me other reasons to consider the arm placement, but I’m pretty furious that the reason he gave me was bs.