Denise,

I've not heard of doing a urine test for kidney function. Usually they draw blood and run a chemistry profile. They are looking at the BUN and creatinine levels to measure renal function.

Hopefully your mother should have no problems with her port-o-cath. It should not cause her pain if properly inserted. The major concern is infection.

Do you know what kind of chemo your mother is getting? And how often? My mother has had 4 weekly infusions of cisplatin and has suffered no side effects, other than thrush in her mouth. This is very common.

As far as checking for tumor shrinkage, I wouldn't expect them to do that until she has completed treatment. Unfortunately learning to wait for results is common with cancer.

Cynthia