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Cherri,

When I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 3/03, my first question was will I have a colostomy. I have been a nurse for many years and one of my first patients had a colostomy. That was in 1976. I almost passed out when I had to empty it and had nightmares for months. I was seen by 2 surgeons and both said they thought could save my sphincter, but things would never be the same. I had 5 weeks of chemo with a fanny pack and 25 radiation treatments. I then had surgery with a temporary ileostomy. I chose to have the ostomy reversed before I resumed chemo, I couldn't wait to be rid of the bag. So 8 weeks after my surgery I had a reversal. I had had 2 bowel obstructions in between the 2 surgeries. I only received 4 out of 12 chemo treatments because I had diarrhea so bad I ended up in the hospital again. I was told I would have 3 - 5 BM's a day after about a month. I have alot of radiation damage and all of my rectal tissue was removed. I had a very low tumor. Well I was left with about 10 - 40 trips a day to the loo and sometimes 10 -15 trips each night. I had constant butt burn and cried daily. I spent several hours a day in the tub. Life was awful. I tried everything and kept thinking it was me that nothing worked. So 18 months after my reversal, I made the toughest decision in my life. I had a colostomy done. Life is great now. I can go anywhere and eat anything. I went on a cruise when I was 7 weeks postop and went snorkeling. I had a post op infection and still had 2 open areas in my incision. I haven't regreted my decision for a second. Would I have have picked any of this. Heck no, but the colostomy is much more easier to live with than the frequency and accidents that I had.

You can email me through this site and I can answer any more questions.

ps--it has been almost 3 years since my original surgery and I remain cancer free. My next cat scan is in about a month.

Maureen

Cherriann, My friend Mark's original surgeon told him he would definitely have to have a permanent colostomy. he said Mark would be impotent, most likely have nerve damage and would probably have a bag for urninating. I did not like this answer so I did some intense research online. I found Dr. Enker in NY who helped devise the TME surgery, a much less invasive rectal surgery designed to keep the rectum intact. Even Dr. Enker was shocked at the location of Mark's tumor - attached to the sphincter and said he would probably have to have a perm. colostomy but he would be able to preserve everything else. He referred Mark back to L.A. to Dr. Beart who he highly recommened. Dr. Beart examined Mark and said there was a good chance he could do the surgery without a perm. colostomy! Great news. Mark had his surgery at the County Hospital here in L.A. (you know the show "General Hospital"? That one). Dr. Ault there did the surgery with Dr. Beart supervising and it was a smashing success. He will be able to have this reversed no problem. Now if we can just get rid of the liver and lung mets...Anyway, TME is a surgery that is maticulously performed to preserve the nerves, remove only what is needed and in most instances, a patient can have the iliostomy/colostomy bag reversed. Hope this helps!

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maureen