Hi my dad has an ileostomy after colon cancer and liver mets. Recently they were worried about blood in his stoma bag. They called an ambulance but he has no wish to go to hospital. It seems to have stopped for now.
Does anyone know if this a usual occurrence in his situation ? He is terminal and bed bound but still able to eat and drink normally within his dietary restrictions.
I just wonder if this is a sign of his disease moving along now or just a minor setback.
Hi AlisonN
Welcome to our Online Community. My name is Tricia and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Support line.
I am sorry to hear your dad has an advanced bowel cancer and is now terminal and bedbound. I hope generally he is feeling as well as possible.
Regarding the blood in the stoma bag – it will be dependant on how much blood there is and where it is coming from. The surface of the ileostomy itself can bleed occasionally or there can be blood on the surface of the skin which may drip into the stoma bag if the bag isn’t quite the right fit. If either of these are the cases you could contact the Stoma Nurse for some advice or a review of the stoma.
Otherwise, it could be blood coming from the bowel internally. This could be for various reasons and again would be dependant on how much. A small amount of blood may not be significant compared to if the bag has a lot of blood in it. You can call NHS 111 for assessment and support although it sounds like your dad is not keen to go into hospital if any further problems going forward.
Unfortunately, as we are not directly involved with his care and unable to access NHS records, we are not able to comment on patient’s specific circumstances to know if this bleeding is down to the disease worsening for your dad.
As your dad is terminally ill the care he receives will all be about dealing with any symptoms that develop. Hopefully your dad has been referred for palliative care and he has a contact for the community Palliative care nurse and team. It would be worth contacting them to get a review of the current situation, see if any intervention needed and what the likelihood this is to be indicating further disease progression. Also to plan forward what to do in the future if he has further bleeds.
I hope you have some support from friends or family currently as it can be difficult emotionally and physically coping with feelings when a loved one has cancer. It is important to look after yourself too. Sometimes being able to share experiences with others in similar situation can be invaluable. Our Family and Friends Forum offers this type of support.
I hope this is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch at any time if there are any other ways Macmillan Cancer Support can be of assistance .
Sending best wishes,
Tricia
Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
Ref: TT/BG
