If you’re living with breast cancer, you might need chemotherapy as part of your treatment. The type of chemo you receive and how it’s delivered will vary based on your specific diagnosis. But your doctor may recommend that you have a medical device called a chemo port implanted.

It’s natural to have questions about which activities you can do when you have a chemo port, and the best approach is to ask your medical team. They know the specifics of your particular type of cancer and your port, so they can give you answers that pertain to your situation.

However, here are some general guidelines for some popular activities when you have a chemo port.

What Is a Chemo Port?

A more permanent alternative to a traditional intravenous (IV) tube, a chemo port is a small medical device that’s implanted under your skin, most often in the upper part of your chest. It includes a tube that goes into a blood vessel. These ports usually have either one or two access points that can be used for collecting blood samples or administering medications.

Having a chemo port implanted is considered a surgical procedure. For that reason, you’ll need to be careful about which activities you participate in while your chemo port site is healing.

What’s Safe With Your Chemo Port?

You can participate in many activities while you have a chemo port implanted. You should be able to shower and bathe normally, and your port shouldn’t interfere much with your daily life once it’s healed.

You’ll want to be careful about strenuous activities or activities that involve water or sweating. Read on for guidance on activities including using an infrared sauna, swimming in a pool, and spending time in a steam room.

Infrared Saunas and Chemo Ports

Many MyBCTeam members have asked what they can and can’t do with a chemo port in place. One member said, “I have expanders and a portacath in, and was wondering if it’s OK to use an infrared sauna?”

More research is needed to definitively determine whether saunas are safe for people with chemo ports — or, in general, for people with cancer. Some research shows that infrared radiation may have some health benefits, but it’s in the early stages of investigation.

That said, you may simply enjoy sitting in the infrared sauna, whether or not it’s part of your breast cancer treatment. There’s not much research on whether or not you can safely have a sauna session with a chemo port installed, however. Plus, no medical organizations have issued any formal guidelines.

Therefore, the best thing you can do is to hold off until you can speak with your doctor. Using a traditional sauna or a home sauna with a chemo port may be safe once your skin has healed. You’ll want to make sure that the specific types of infrared radiation your sauna emits are safe before you use it.

Swimming and Chemo Ports

Once your chemo port insertion site has healed, you’ll likely be able to swim without an increased risk of infection.

Before submerging in water, make sure your incision is fully closed without any scabbing. Also, it’s important to understand that you can never swim while the port is accessed (needle in place).

Swimming is good exercise for most people. It may be a more accessible activity for people who are undergoing breast cancer treatment, because it’s a low-impact activity that can help you maintain your cardiovascular health.

Chemo Port Swimming Safety

Before you swim, talk to your medical team. You may need to limit your swimming to sanitized pools and avoid swimming in places where you could be exposed to bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

People who are immunosuppressed during chemotherapy should follow the advice of their oncology teams. This may mean avoiding public pools, bodies of water (lakes, ocean), and hot tubs during low-white-blood-cell periods.

Additionally, make sure that you have a chemo port and not a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line or a central venous catheter (e.g., a Hickman line). Swimming with these is generally not recommended. Follow your care team’s instructions — policies may vary by facility and waterproofing approach.

Additionally, although you won’t likely be sent home with needles still attached to your chemo port, you should ensure there aren’t any needles present before you start swimming.

If you didn’t swim regularly before your breast cancer diagnosis, work with your doctor or a qualified trainer. They can create a plan that allows you to be active without pushing yourself too hard, especially during treatments.

Steam Rooms and Chemo Ports

Before using a steam room or steam sauna with a chemo port, you should always discuss it with your physician. They may recommend against being exposed to high heat while you’re undergoing cancer treatment.

High temperatures and humid environments can make it hard to cool off, so your oncologist may advise staying away from steam rooms and hot tubs during cancer treatment. Study up on which kind of steam room you plan to use before you talk to your doctor. Their recommendation may depend on the room’s air temperature, as well as whether you plan to use a wet heat steam room or a dry heat room.

Chemo Port Infection Prevention

If your doctor does give you the go-ahead, be on the lookout for any skin discoloration, warmth, or pain on your skin near your chemo port. These could be signs of infection and should be reported to your doctor.

Other red flags that should prompt you to contact your oncology team (or visit the emergency room) include fever, chills, inflammation, or a sudden feeling of unwellness — especially after the port is used.

Other Activities and Your Chemo Port

If you plan to participate in any strenuous activities, make sure you speak to your doctor beforehand. Mention any other medical conditions you might have. You should also consider your energy levels during treatment and whether you think you’ll be able to do what you want without getting exhausted.

In general, you’ll need to avoid activities that put too much pressure on the port or the silicone line under it. Additionally, steer clear of activities that pose a risk of introducing any sort of infection or other microbe into the port or the skin under it — though this is rare.

You may need to wait until your port is removed and the site is healed before working out your upper body or doing potentially strenuous activities such as weightlifting. You can often stimulate the same muscles with different exercises, but you may need to talk to a trainer to figure out how.

How To Talk to Your Doctor About Activities and Your Chemo Port

When you approach your doctor for medical advice about what you can and can’t do with your chemo port, bring as many details as possible.

For example, if you have questions about using an infrared sauna, be prepared to share the type of sauna, the temperature you want it to be, and the types of infrared rays it exposes you to.

The more details your doctors have, the more accurate answers they’ll be able to give you. Certain details may determine whether you get a “yes” or a “no.”

You and your doctor can also weigh how important the activity is for you. If you need to do certain activities for your mental health, wellness, or overall sense of well-being, your doctor may be able to help you figure out how to keep doing them safely while you have your chemo port.

Talk With Others Who Understand

On MyBCTeam, people come together to share their experiences with breast cancer, get advice, and find support from others who understand.

Are you wondering what kinds of activities are safe to do with a chemo port? Let others know in the comments below.