Hi everyone, I have a recurrence of bowel cancer after 6 years. It’s come back in rectum, cervix and possible close to bladder. I have to have 3 months radiotherapy and chemotherapy then a huge operation called exenteration to remove rectum, womb, vagina and possibly they might save the bladder.
I am so distressed and cannot eat, sleep or stop shaking and crying. Can anyone actually survive this amount of surgery?
I would be grateful if any of you have any experience of this operation and could let me know if it’s survivable?
Thank you 
Hi Laylaemma and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
It's natural to be scared when faced with a big operation and to want to know how others have got on who've had it.
As the online community is divided into different support groups I'm going to recommend that you join the bowel cancer group which is a great place to ask questions and share experiences with others who have had the same operation as you are due to have.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Laylaemma
Just to give you some reassurance about this, I wanted to say that I had a total pelvic exenteration 4.5 years ago, so yes, it’s survivable! I hope to see you in the bowel group, and if you post there I’ll be happy to try and answer any questions about the surgery and recovery.
Sarah xx
Hi KellyH19
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with constipation. I don’t know anyone who has had the exenteration surgery who hasn’t had a stoma but I’m presuming you haven’t had to have one?
Sarah xx
I had mine 4.5 years ago in Sheffield, but mine was a total pelvic exenteration so I lost my rectum and bladder along with other various parts.
Sarah xx
