Long term disability and colon cancer

kylehenry

fred1247 said:

Permanent Colostomy
Thanks Buzzard, you are probably correct, should plan on wakening up after the surgery with a colostomy bag on my side, worst case. Just difficult thinking about how my working life may change with traveling and having a colostomy. I may be over blowing this situation, not sure if anyone else in the forum has had to travel a great deal with a colostomy. Anyway I am not going to worry about this now, will just see what happens next week after the surgery. All I can do is hope they remove the cancer and can hook me back up.

Thanks

Permanent Colostomy
Fred
Don't worry about traveling withyour colostomy. Ihave had one for 3.5 years and I just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas. I went swimming without a shirt and enjoyed myself just as I use to. I agree with Buzzard its all about attitude if you believe its going to be a problem then it will but if you don't it won't. Ido suggest that when traveling that you bring plenty of your ostomy supplies just in case.

fred1247

kylehenry said:

Permanent Colostomy
Fred
Don't worry about traveling withyour colostomy. Ihave had one for 3.5 years and I just got back from a cruise to the Bahamas. I went swimming without a shirt and enjoyed myself just as I use to. I agree with Buzzard its all about attitude if you believe its going to be a problem then it will but if you don't it won't. Ido suggest that when traveling that you bring plenty of your ostomy supplies just in case.

Colostomy
Thanks Kyle, I had a meeting with my surgeon yesterday and he is hopeful that I will not need a permanent colostomy. My tumor is 9 cm up the rectum and he feels that there is enough to reconnect, worst case is a temporary colostomy if they need the reconnection to heal for a few months. So I am optimistic, but if things go wrong I will just deal with it.

Thanks

karenrenea

jenjerandkatesmom said:

Long Term Disability
I too travel for my job but just within the state of Wisconsin. Just a brif history, I had 6 weeks 5FU and radiation, then surgery. Recuperated for a month and then started 6 months of Folfox. Started off using the short term disability, then switched to long term. I did not have a problem with the paper work as others have had. My carrier was Matrix. My carrier's condition for LTD was that IF I returned to work for even 1 day, I started over for qualification (wait one week with no pay, then payments started again). Won't get paid much this way, waiting a week every time you work a single day.
Please read the small print or ask for clarification of your policy. Chemo is different for everyone so I guess I'd suggest trying it and see how it goes. Thank goodness you have a long term disability plan if you need it. Many people do not have that luxury. Good luck to you with your surgery. Let us know how it goes. I will say a prayer for you that all goes as you hope it will.
-Sharon

any post treatment/ surgery pain?
This is my first time on any site dealing with cancer. I was diagnosed with colon cancer in April of 2004. Like you, i had same treatment and meds. Then i had surgery and now have a permanent colostomy. It has been almost 5 years since my life changed due to finding out i had colon cancer. I've tried to continue a normal life, and for the most part it is. But i have constant pain in my left side and abdominal pain. I have had ct scans, pet scans, more colonoscopys, been to the urologist, gynecologist, and all my test have come back normal except for one from my urologist and it just said something about one of my ureters is enlarged. But the only thing i'm told is that is probably just damage due to radiation. Radiation also threw me into menopause for which i now take hormone replacements. I have a lot of pain and don't feel like i have any real answers. I take pain medication, but i want a cure, but without any real answers, there's not any known cures. I was 31 when i was diagnosed, and am now 36. Can you relate at all? Can anyone relate? Does anyone have any suggestions? I also have depression and bad memory. I feel like giving up sometimes and just staying in bed with the covers over my head.

PhillieG

karenrenea said:

any post treatment/ surgery pain?
This is my first time on any site dealing with cancer. I was diagnosed with colon cancer in April of 2004. Like you, i had same treatment and meds. Then i had surgery and now have a permanent colostomy. It has been almost 5 years since my life changed due to finding out i had colon cancer. I've tried to continue a normal life, and for the most part it is. But i have constant pain in my left side and abdominal pain. I have had ct scans, pet scans, more colonoscopys, been to the urologist, gynecologist, and all my test have come back normal except for one from my urologist and it just said something about one of my ureters is enlarged. But the only thing i'm told is that is probably just damage due to radiation. Radiation also threw me into menopause for which i now take hormone replacements. I have a lot of pain and don't feel like i have any real answers. I take pain medication, but i want a cure, but without any real answers, there's not any known cures. I was 31 when i was diagnosed, and am now 36. Can you relate at all? Can anyone relate? Does anyone have any suggestions? I also have depression and bad memory. I feel like giving up sometimes and just staying in bed with the covers over my head.

post surgical pain
Hi Karen,
I recently hit my 5 year mark with colon cancer (Feb 25th 04). I had my first of 5 surgeries in Sept 04 and I had a lot done. Small section of colon removed, 65-70% of liver removed, gallbladder removed, and a few lymph nodes removed. Ohm and a hepatic pump installed. The pain was incredible. I felt residual pain from that for maybe 2 years. The past 3 years I've had lung surgeries, 2 on both side, one just right side and also a RFA on the right side. I've had a lot of pain and numbness at the same time on my right side. I was taking a lot of pain meds (oxy... and dilaudid. I felt I was taking too many pain meds and they cause constipation as does CPT11 which was a chemo I was taking. I since have eliminated the oral pain meds and have gone on a Fentenol patch which I replace every 72 hours. It has helped with managing the pain a lot. One thing I did not have was a colostomy. Have you by chance spoken to a therapist at all or have seen a psychiatrist? I have done both and currently see my therapist who has helped me a lot. I also take an anti depressant (zoloft) and anti anxiety meds (xanax) and they help me too. I could not imagine getting this far with out them. I feel that whatever one needs to cope with cancer is fair game and it's often in your best interest to seek help. It's often not something that you need to stay on nor is it a sign of weekness. I still get depressed, I'm just getting over a major bout and I'm sure they'll be more but the feelings pass. I do suggest talking to your MD about options. This site is a very good site for cancer issues. Everyone is very nice and tries to be helpful. You also get a bunch of different opinions too.
Feel better
-phil

tiny one

CherylHutch said:

You'll do fine, Fred!
Just chiming in here again. It's so totally normal to be apprehensive for upcoming surgery... any kind of surgery, but especially a surgery that you know you are having to remove cancer. I don't know why a cancer surgery should be any more apprehensive than say, a back surgery or removing your appendix... but it is, so know that your apprehension is totally normal. As the days get closer, you may find yourself getting more anxious and apprehensive.

As for getting hooked up to the colostomy bag... I am gently going to beg to differ with the attitude "expect the worst and rejoice if it turns out you don't need one". It's sort of like looking at the glass as if it were half full or half empty. My belief system is based on energy... and the energy we release and put out there, we get back tenfold. Everything is based on energy... our thoughts, our bodies, trees, animals, grass, you name it, it is made up of energy. So if our thoughts are energy and we push them out there to the universe and get that energy back tenfold, then one really does have to be careful what they wish for or what thoughts they dwell on.

I suggest you just tell yourself -- "I'm going in for surgery next week. A surgery that is going to be performed by an extremely talented surgeon. He/She is going to go in and cut out what needs to be cut out to get rid of the cancer and then will sew up the two connecting bits of intestine... and I will then have a smooth recovery. I will not need the help of colostomy bags, or any other aids because I am strong and have all the support I need."

It's not only a matter of thinking positively, you also must put the energy out there of what you want. I did that and when the Colostomy Nurse came to have a talk with me the night before the surgery, that positive energy way of thinking was really put to the test. She explained the whole process of a colostomy bag, how it works, etc. She then said she was going to mark my sides with an X for the surgeon. If the bag was going to be a temporary bag (6 months), then the surgeon would use the right side, if it was going to be permanent, he would use the left side... and know by the X's where to cut and attach. I thanked her but told her that he's going to be so busy sewing me up, I don't think he will need either X

Well, when I woke up in recovery, apparently they were having a heck of a time getting my pain under control. I, personally, don't remember that at all. But I do remember waking up and started to slap both sides. My Recovery nurse freaked out... "Cheryl, Cheryl... wake up! What are you doing?? Stop slapping yourself!" and I said, "I'm trying to figure out if he's put a bag on me and if so, what side??" The nurse then reassured me that he did not have to put a colostomy bag on me... I have no bag on either side. Oh.. Ok... so then I went back into a peaceful sleep

Who knows if that way of thinking works, but it has worked for me time and time again, that I believe there's a lot to it.

Good luck, my friend... and do keep us posted... and come back here every day just to yak until your surgery

Huggggggs,

Cheryl

energy
Have you tried energy healing? I have and it's awesome. It enables the body to heal more. This is usually done in conjunction with a massage.