Hope this good report gives cheer and positivity to any who can use it. It's been six years now since my main surgery and so far, so good. My digestive system settled down fully after about 3 years. CEA is just fine, all other exams are just fine, I can eat anything I ate before the cancer dx and re...

Hey hey. Though my surgeon looked at me sternly and told me to sell the bike after all his excellent LAR work and my excellent recovery four years ago, I commute on a new Honda Metropolitan 49cc ever since my Ruckus started becoming increasingly troublesome. I didn't ride the first year post-surgery...

Woo hoo! Congratulations, jaynee. You are an inspiration for bad-assery, too!

Hoping my experience can be encouraging for anyone in similar circumstances... Two years ago, after unsettling symptoms prompted my first colonoscopy (at 55, yeah, I know), a low rectal tumor was discovered. After much research I chose major surgery (removal of the rectum, straight connection, &...

Abdominal surgery is not fun, but being fit beforehand is an excellent advantage. You may wish to get a good therapeutic massage a couple of days before the surgery, to relax you. Talk a nice walk and do stretching exercises the morning of the surgery, and tell the anesthesiology team you want them ...

One of the first people I told after the initial dx was my hairstylist. Seriously -- after spouse and siblings, I called Caroline. At the time I had no idea what lay in store, but I told her I would need her help getting through everything if chemo was in the works. She was fantastic, so supportive....

Bro Nut, I am enjoying a St. Arnold's Oktoberfest right now!

It has been just over a year since the surprise diagnosis. One year ago I was deep in fear and deep in research, trying to decide what kind of surgery to have, open to the universe as well as to scholarly publications. Thankfully, I found this forum, too. Accepted the fierce love and support of fami...

Ah, thank you, Colon Club! Two days ago I picked up Schiff Digestive Advantage Gas Defense Formula (yes that's right, GAS DEFENSE!), as recommended by so many on this forum. Target had the best price, a good $5 less than Walgreens for a box of 32 capsules. To get things established I have been takin...

Oh, my. A little past 4 months after ileo reversal following removal of my rectum, and while the poops are now nicely formed, the farts don't stop. I do know that legumes are no longer my friends and that Bean-o is absolutely worthless as a prophylactic remedy. Effects of psyillium on this problem a...

del and tarheelmom, Hope my 2 cents can help your perspectives. After much research, stress, and receptivity to what the Universe told me, I chose a ULAR for a low tumor that indeed turned out to be Stage I T2N0M0. My other option was excision, which would have spared the rectum and been less trauma...

Hi, folks. Six weeks post-reversal and today...today...TODAY...after a "quiet" morning and some unusual but brief cramping in the kishkas after lunch, I had the most copious, formed, abundant, and utterly satisfying single s**t I've had in at least six months. Wow. There were just a few mo...

What a good, sweet husband. You are a lucky woman, with him next to you in this business.

The cabbage-tofu-sausage report: ...I suspect the primary culprit was the cabbage, but it could have been the tofu. I haven't really eaten much beans since the reversal, and nowhere near the amount I regularly consumed before Dx. My dearest CatHair, I love cabbage in any form, it leaves me far from...

The cabbage-tofu-sausage report: Significant intestinal rumbling and notable gas discomfort woke me five or six hours after the meal. A trip to the toilet -- no product, only more gas. Back to bed, sleepless from monitoring possible shart activity (that never occurred). Lost a good 1 1/2 hours of sl...