Surgery Scheduled for Friday

Hello! I am new to the site. I am a 66 year old male and I have had UC since I was twenty-nine. My last colonoscopy detected rectal cancer. I have known it would eventually happen. I will be having a Total Proctocolectomy with end Ileostomy.

I have been reading a lot of the information posted here and it is helping me prepare. I will continue to read and will probably have a lot of questions during and after the recovery.

Thanks in advance.

cw

Good luck! Fear of eventually developing colon or rectal cancer was a factor in my decision tohave surugery- consider yourself lucky that your doctors caught it in time! One positive of the yearly scopes, I suppose. Yes, progress after surgery will be slow- plan to take at least 3 months of serious downtime. You'll be up & moving, but not much! But I feel confident saying you will feel better, so much so that you may wonder why you waited. It's hard to prepare for something this major- try not to drive yourself crazy thinking if you've gotten everything "taken care of".. things will work themselves out. Enjoy your last week with a colon!

I just had surgery two weeks ago. I have an end ileostomy also. I had UC - it's so nice to say "I had UC" - for over five years and was in a terrible flare most of the time.

Overall the ileostomy is nothing compared to dealing with UC. Even after two weeks I forget the bag is there and changing and emptying take no time at all. When I was sick I'd be in the bathroom every morning for hours off and on.

Good luck with the surgery!

Had surgery July 7th. You will be fine. Treat recovery as training for a marathon and not a sprint. Sure, it is overwhelming but your life will be so much better after the surgery. The board has so many knowledgeable people to help you get through this......stay positive,,,