Rectal cancer- Staging question? Follow Mop up Chemo??

[dmondgirl]

I had a similar diagnosis. It's normal to take out a good deal of the lower colon along with the rectum. The way my surgeon described it, there's kind of a minimum take - once you cut the nerves and blood vessels to the rectum, the lower 10-inches of colon have to come out too regardless of whether they were irradiated. But not to worry - there's plenty of colon above that. 3 1/2 years now post surgery and I'm basically back to normal. Adjuvant chemo is a bit rough - I did FOLFOX - but not too bad most of the time. Even so I went to work and lived pretty normally through it. There will be adjustments, of course. I still have a little neuropathy in my feet, for example, but it doesn't impair function at all and I hardly notice it anymore. Today I take Metamucil daily and probably have 3 BMs a day, so that's a little inconvenient, but you get used to it and they aren't emergencies or anything.

Good luck.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Did you have a rough time after reversal? I have read some post and some people had it really rough...im guessing it depends on what part of the colon is removed.... am i corrrect ?

[ab123]

Reading back this thread thought I would update on how my reversal went.

Ileostomy reversal comes with the relief of not having to deal with the bag anymore, but you trade that for having to sit on the toilet a lot. It took me a while to get to the right amount of Metamucil to bulk up the stool - to have fewer BMs. But it was pretty ok for me in general. I had control and maybe only a couple small accidents at the start. Also I pretty quickly had to reduce vegetable intake - anything with leaves just went right through me. I learned, for example, that eating hamburgers leads to better bowel performance. The consideration of food became much more about the mechanics of digestion rather than nutrition or "eating well".

Even after 6+ years I still have to think a little about what I eat - moderate salads - and I sometimes need Imodium still - if I'm traveling and eat something that doesn't quite work. I have resisted keeping a food journal - mostly because I'm disorganized, but I do think that would be helpful - just to know better what leads to days where I have to sit a lot vs. those when I don't. I also have a lot of gas still - and diet affects that.

[Caat55]

Thanks for your update. I am only 3 months out and have veggies issues. I do okay with salads but all the wonderful squash, summer salads seems to be an issue for me. We have a huge garden and eating from it every night is such a treat. How much fiber are you taking? Do you notice or experience a lot of gas? Loud sounds, rumbling from the gut?
S