Needles

Noun:

a very fine slender piece of polished metal with a point at one end and a hole or eye for thread at the other, used in sewing. "a darning needle"
The pointed hollow end of a hypodermic syringe.
Prick or pierce with or as if with a needle
Provoke or annoy by continual criticism or questioning

If there is one thing that is a constant through your cancer journey, it’s bloody needles!

Whether it’s stuff going in, stuff coming out, being put to sleep, or grabbing stuff from your insides, it will involve needles. If you had any kind of needle phobia before cancer, this will be make or break!

I have come to terms with my dislike of needles by just not looking. Definitely don’t look at a biopsy needle. They are the mother of all needles. And if you’re a bit queasy around blood, don’t look at it going into your arm if you have to have a blood transfusion.

If you’ve had a port fitted, this does counter a lot of the unpleasantness of needles, as unless you make a concerted effort, you won’t see the needles going into it.

However, anyone with you can see the whole thing. I once brought my then, 14 year old daughter with me, and she nearly passed out as they inserted the line into my port. It was a good way to get her to keep going out to bring back coffee and biscuits though. Funny, she never offered to come with me again….

A lot of people are totally fine with needles. You’d have thought that after all of the treatments I’ve been through I would be totally fine with them. But every single time I feel the same anxiety. However, self-distraction can get you through. Especially if there is some eye candy to look at.