Any one have Colectomy for Cancer near rectum?

There is a woman on here named BadBagGirl who had surgery after being diagnosed with rectal cancer. Hopefully, she'll see this post and will reply. You might check to see if she has an email listed with her profile.

Personally, I wouldn't want to mess with pre-cancerous cells, especially since having an ostomy, in my opinion, is not a big deal. Nobody can tell that you have one, since it's completely hidden under your clothes.

Just today at work, I heard of a 47 year old woman who is going through chemo and radiation for rectal cancer, and she had Crohn's for years leading up to it. She is miserable and might not even survive, and I hate the thought of anyone going through that when surgery could have prevented it.

My surgeon did not have the best bedside manner either and was very matter-of-fact that my colon needed to be removed. It was shocking to hear at first, but I do believe that they know what they're talking about and have our best interest in mind, even though it doesn't seem like it at the time.

There comes a time when you have to throw vanity out the window and do what is necessary to save your life. We've all been there and understand the difficult decision you have to make. I think you'll find that most of us are very happy with our decision to have surgery and are here to help ease your fears. Please ask any questions you may have, and we'll do our best to answer.

Ceclia,
Thanks so much for replying. So you have weathered it all well? Disease and medicine free is a big deal.
Are there clothes you can't wear? Have you ever had problems with stoma area or bags coming unsealed? Really I have a million questions and just can't get my head wrapped around all this. Were you really sick when you had the ileostomy?
I guess maybe there is an element of vanity I have to deal with,but I have spent my whole life with body image issues and now I'm going to compound them?!? You think having the ostomy is no big deal? I guess I still need to get there. I saw my GP today and he had just read the letter from the surgeon and he thinks I should just do it. This may sound crazy but I feel I will lose myself more than I already have to disease and where will my hope for a better life go?
Thanks so much for looking into the other person. That was above and beyond, going the extra mile. I truly appreciate it. It's good all the people feeling well don't leave or we would drown in not see light at the end of the tunnel.

After reading some posts on problems with stoma and bags falling off you comments are comforting OHIO. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for your reply! I'm happy to help in any way I can. To answer your questions, there really aren't any clothes I can't wear. I live in Florida and thought that bikinis were going to be off limit, but much to my surprise, I found a two piece that works! It's a bikini top with a skirt bottom.

I'm happy to say that in the last 3 years that I've had an ileostomy, I've never had any problems with the stoma area or with bags coming unsealed. There are a lot of products out there, and sometimes it's just trial and error to find the right one for you. I got lucky and have used the same one my Ostomy Nurse recommended in the hospital.

I didn't think I was that sick when I got the ileostomy, but then again, after 7 years with Crohn's, I had forgotten what it was like to be well. The disease was causing fistulas and abscesses in my butt area that were very painful, so I started out with a temporary ileostomy to bypass the colon and rectum, so the abscess wounds could heal.

Before I had surgery, I thought that having an ostomy was going to be a big deal, but once I had one, it surprisingly wasn't. It gave me a freedom that I hadn't known in years. It's so flat and unnoticeable under my clothes that I truly forget it's there. 

Your hope for a better life is in beating this disease, and the best way to beat it is to take away the place it wants to attack. You can live a completely healthy and happy life without a colon, and once you're healthy, the sky's the limit on what you can do!

That was great advice that the other ladies gave you about meeting someone with an ostomy, so you can see for yourself how unnoticeable it is. I told my surgeon to call me if they ever have a patient who is scared (like I was) and wants to talk or meet in person. I had never met an ostomate before I had surgery, and I think it would have really helped ease my fears had I done that first. I also wish I would have known about this site, because it would have helped immensely, as well.

If you want to see pictures of us, we have a site at www.photobucket.com user name: crohnsdisease / password: 6mp3asa

Feel free to upload a picture of yourself, too!

Here's a reply from someone who survived rectal cancer 10 years ago. I had a temporary colostomy but it was reversed 2 months later. That is when all my "fun" began.....and is still going on. I have to eat a very plain diet, time when and how much I do eat and reduce my stress level as much as possible. All in all, I manage but I spend hours per day in the bathroom. At least 2 if I were to total the amount of time I'm in there for each bm (multiple, 10, 12, sometimes more than 15 times, spaced out thru-out my entire day, as long as I continue eating).

As I was awaiting my first surgery for cancer my surgeon kept saying it would turn my world completely upside down. He was right, it has. He also said that 20 years prior to 1999, I would have been given a permanent colostomy, without discussion. Implying that colon resections had become so advanced, it was possible and a miracle I could be put back together and not need an ostomy (long run).

Well, there have been many days when I think having a permanent colostomy would be so much easier than the situation I am in now! But now we have lousy medical insurance, I do not want any more surgery, avoid it like the plague actually and I am just making the best of this situation I find myself in.

I could eat a lot more foods when I was on my ostomy diet than I can now.

Having a colostomy isn't the end of the world. Perhaps one day I will permit my current colon surgeon (my original surgeon left his practice and moved several states away) to do what she thinks would greatly improve my life - give me an inverted colostomy as low as possible, one that I would irrigate (fancy way of saying giving yourself an enema each day) once a day. Irrigating takes 1 to 2 hours per day and the rest of that 24 hour period you wear a large bandaid over the stoma, called an AM Patch. This type of inverted colostomy only works if you have most of your large intestine still. She swears this would simplify my life. But I'm not buying that - yet. In time, maybe I'll give it some consideration but things would definitely have to improve with the economy, our insurance coverage would have to return to what we had in 1999, and our daughters would have to be out of college.

For now, I put up with a lot of stool coming out, all day long. I can slow it down by eating very, very light and following the LRD.

But I am here to say knowing all I know now, 10 years later, if I were sitting here typing with a permanent colostomy it wouldn't be a devastating thing and one that could actually be managed quite well.

I do wish you luck in this decision. It is not an easy one but in time, you'll know what is best for your situation.

Hulston,
I know what you mean about not wanting to be reconnected. After what I went through with Crohn's and the 20+ bathroom trips per day, I wouldn't do it either (even if I could). I love not having the 'urge' to go anymore. It's so liberating! Going to the bathroom the conventional way is, in my honest opinion, way overrated. I'm glad that you and Mary are cancer-free!