Cancer Society provides transport for port surgery

Ports bring to mind exotic places, as in ports of call.

However, there are other ports most people don't visit. Placed just under the skin below the collar bone, they are the delivery system of choice for many chemotherapy drugs. Patients with ports no longer need to have talented phlebotomists hope they hit veins on a first stick.

At my last visit, my oncologist decided he wanted me to change to a new chemo, one that would require a port. I figured I'd meander in to surgery whenever Dr. David J. Winchester, my surgeon had a break in his schedule.

Instead, I got a real wake-up call when his nurse Audrey called early in the morning and asked, "Have you eaten anything?" Re-assured that I had only taken a few sips of my morning kefir, her query was followed by, "Don't eat! He's going to try to fit you in later this afternoon."

I was delighted, but then asked her if I could drive home.

"Absolutely not," she said.

I spent the next two hours calling neighbors and friends to see if someone might be available to drive me from Buffalo Grove to Evanston Hospital and back to Buffalo Grove -- during late afternoon rush hour -- just in case the schedule worked.

Finally, at the suggestion of Eileen Johnson, the new concierge at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, I called a few transportation services. Sliding into port like a sleek sailing ship, the American Cancer Society transportation office called its cab company to take me back and forth.

We would both wait for the call from the doctor's office. The only difference was the driver could eat.

Normally, I don't pay much attention to meal times. But when someone says, "Don't eat, and only take sips of water," those words make me hungry and thirsty.

To kill time, I decided to write my column. I do not plan to eat my words; I'm also not taking a cruise.

Finally, I received the call and headed for the hospital. But the best-laid plans sometimes take a turn. An unforeseen number of emergency surgeries and no open operating rooms pushed my procedure to another day.

I scarfed down the sandwich and juice the hospital provided and went home.

When I go back, the cancer society once again will be ready to give me a ride. The transportation is free to all cancer patients and is paid for by donations.

Thanks, American Cancer Society. Your help is much appreciated.