Diving with chemo port and two stable tumors in one lung?

[simonds]

OK, I really want to dive again. I have stage IV metastasized breast cancer and have finished my first 18 weeks of chemo with Taxol. Now I'm on herceptin and zometa every three weeks for a year. I feel good these days and am anxious to get back under water while I still am able. I realize that I have to be careful of the port, but I always dive with my arms crossed and let my legs do the work. I think snorkeling is actually more work than diving.

My oncologist, not a diver at all, thinks that the port would be under "pressure." (It's up in my chest and away from my BC. ) I don't think that's the issue here.

I have made 594 dives and am 73 - yes that's old, but I'm a careful diver with a husband who looks out for me underwater.

 

[TSandM]

Is this a completely buried port? If so, as long as your equipment doesn't put direct pressure on the line, there should be no issues with diving. There shouldn't be any air in the port or line.

The medications you are on are not really benign, and some of the possible adverse reactions are severe. I don't think anybody can tell you that it is low risk to dive while receiving those medications, but of course, there is no literature to say what the risk actually IS. And this is one of those situations where only you can decide how to weigh the various factors.

I hope you get it sorted out. But, if you avoid direct pressure to the port or line, the hardware shouldn't be an issue.

 

[simonds]

Yes, the port is under the skin. So far I haven't had adverse reactions to the herceptin and zometa. I don't know if diving might create more problems with those medications.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

As usual in cases like this, you'll probably want to talk to the good people at DAN.

That being said, I can see a few issues.

Tumors in the lung can lead to injury and scarring of the lung tissues. This could potentially increase your chances of barotrauma. If there's any question, a high res CT should help.

I don't know exactly which port you have, but the common ones (medi port, power port, etc) should not present any problems, unless there is air in it. And there really should not be any air in it. At most, you might consider aspirating and flushing the port, but this would likely be overkill.

Obviously, you'll need to protect the area around the port, since it will be prone to abrassion.

And of course, since chemo and your immune system are not exactly the best of friends, you'll need to be extremely cautious about infection.

I can understand your desire to get back under the water. I was recently diagnosed with a stage III metastasized carcinoid tumor. Illeocecectomy on Aug 17th, which leaves plenty of time to heal before we head to Curacao Nov 1.

 

[simonds]

Good luck to you Dirty Dog. This cancer beast is no fun especially when it interferes with our diving.

I don't think infection will be a problem for me right now. The herceptin does not compromise the immune system and I would be four months out of my regular chemo treatment.

I am having a chest CT scan at the end of this month and will have a long talk with the pulmonalogist. After that I will talk to DAN too.

Thanks for your concern.

 

[TSandM]

It IS a good point about bronchial obstruction. We lost an experienced cave diver in a mine in Canada, IIRC, about two years ago. Autopsy showed he had an undiagnosed pulmonary mass that had caused an gas embolism. The CT should give a lot of information as to whether that is an issue for you.