rectal cancer

[baker1]

hello group. My name is Al. im a 63 year old retired baker from northeast pennsylvania. i developed stage 2 crectal cancer in november of 2004. i had 35 radiation treatments. 5fu chemo port treatments for 49 days and finally in march of 2005 i had my first surgery. Dr. John Marks of Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood PA. performed my surgery , removing my rectum, creating a new one with part of my colon and giving me a colostomy bag for recovery. In july 2005 i had reversal surgery and am still recovering. The surgery was a success and i am cancer free to this date but i am still struggling with recovery of my bowel control. I also have no direction in terms of diet and what i can and cannot eat. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to chat please feel free to message me here. Thanks for any and all input. Al.

[Jen Blaire]

Hi Al, I am a stage 3 rectal cancer survivor. My saving grace when I got home after surgery was that I used balmex and baby wipes alot. I also invested in Imodium AD and Rolaids. And, I took lots of baths for the discomfort. But, otherwise I just relaxed and ate more organic foods and drank green tea. If you have any other questions I am a lover of helping.