Hi all , I had an appointment with my consultant today , not good news I’ve been told my rectal tumour is stage 4 after previously being told it wasn’t ! My chemo and radiotherapy will be delayed as I need to have a stoma as a matter of urgency (within the next two weeks) as the tumour is almost blocking my bowel causing me great pain when I need the loo , as the doc said “it’s like trying to push something through a closed door” not sure how I feel about this as I know it will be permanent I haven’t stopped crying today , I know it’s for the best but I’m terrified , can anyone reassure me it’s not as bad as I’m building it up to be in my head
Hi.
This is a lot to process. I had the same process to go through and I came up with the main idea that I wanted that out of me !
I have an ileostomy, I am over a year now. I may be reversed I may not but the one thing I have clung on to is the cancer is out
I didn’t think about a stoma I had to get rid of that thing in me!
But I now have my stoma and it’s easier than when I had the blockage stopping me from going to the toilet. I spent forever in there taking all sorts to help to manage a ribbon poo
If you join the stoma group and search you will find lots of posts past and present
I am fine, I’ve flown to Spain to see my brother, Ireland to see my son and my beautiful grandchildren whose birthdays happened to mean I was jumping on their trampoline and bouncing on an obstacle course. I just taped up and away.
Take time to process what’s been said.
If I can help in any way please ask away. There’s so many here that have amazing advice
Ann
Hi lyncd66
It’s been a shock for you to hear this, and the urgency of the surgery doesn’t give you much time to get used to the idea. But the thought is worse than the reality in my opinion. I’ve had a permanent colostomy (and a urostomy) for 2.5 years now and my life just goes on as normal.
I didn’t give the thought of stomas a lot of space in my head as my priority was to get rid of my cancer, so I focused on the end result being successful rather than dwell on the process to get there.
It’s absolutely natural to be scared of the surgery, but living with a stoma is just getting rid of waste from your body in another way. It’s straightforward to manage and you can still do the things you did before. And it should relieve pain you are currently experiencing. If you join the stoma support group in the community there’s lots of advice available and you can ask any questions.
https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/ileostomy-and-colostomy-discussions-forum/
Sarah xx
