Bill 2006

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Bill Had a bout of Colorectal (Bowel) Cancer, this is some pics and the story so far (September 2006).

In 2005 I had a bout of the Trotts (going to the toilet quite often). I eventual went to my Doctor who was great. He gave me a quick examination and checked my Prostrate etc. He then reffered me to the hospital and a specialist.

This is when the fun started. I have until this episode avoided the hospital for over 20 years. I had excellent service and was poked and probed by experts.

I had examinations, blood samples taken, colonoscopy, xrays using a Barium Dye Tracer etc etc.

I was then interviewed by an Oncologist. His verdict was that I had stage III Colorectal Cancer

So it was recommended I have surgery. I next visited the Surgeon. He did exminations and scans etc and in November 2006 I had a month off work to have my Cancer Operation.

Plan A was to use key hole surgery and make 3 insisions in my abdomen and do it like that. But when I woke from the Surgery, they had to do plan B. This was a full insision and an Ileostomy (bring the end of the small bowel thru the abdomen and have a Stoma and Stoma Bag). The large bowel had leaked at the repair, the bowel is stapled back together. See the pictures and explanantions of this page. I had section of bowel removed and surrounding Lymph nodes removed.

I spent a week in hospital and 3 weeks recuperating.

Then it was back to the Oncologist and recommendations that I have Chemotherapy.

Chemo was mostly as a precaution. I could do nothing and have a 60% chance of surviving and a 2% chance to get run over by a bus. If I had chemo I increased my chances to 75% survival.

I had weekly injections for 6 months. This was a pain and I felt like a pin cushion! Some of the nurses had some difficulty finding a vein, but such is life!

When the chemo was finished I had a Barium Xray to make sure the large bowel had repaired properly and there was no leakage.

In September I am due to see my Surgeon and hopefully a date will be set for the reversal of my Ileostomy.

The Stoma is a pain in the butt! I have had a few disasters. I had a blockage of the stoma and a bout of gastroenteritis which was 3/4 days of a nightmare. My bag was filling every few minutes and I had spillages and bags bursting (Yuk).

Still every day above ground is a good day and a lot of my friends have died, including two I knew of bowel cancer. Most males leave it to long before seaking treatment. Mine was caught quite early and tests etc to date show it has gone.

Bill's Stoma

Bill's Stoma Bag

CT Scan

Colonoscopy/Sigmoidoscopy
From

Barium meal/enema
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A barium meal, also known as a barium swallow or an upper gastrointestinal series is a procedure in which radiographs of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are taken after barium sulfate is ingested by a patient. Barium meals are useful in the diagnosis of structural and motility abnormalities of the foregut. There are two varieties of barium meal, these being single and double contrast meals. A single contrast meal uses only barium, a radiopaque (or positive) contrast medium, to image the upper gastrointestinal tract while a double contrast meal uses barium as well as a radiolucent (or negative) contrast medium such as room air, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. The double contrast meal has the advantage of demonstrating mucosal details and is much more useful as a diagnostic test allowing the detection of small mucosal lesions such as diverticula or polyps.

A barium enema is given in order to perform an x-ray examination of the large intestines. Pictures are taken after rectal instillation of barium sulfate (a radiopaque contrast medium).

Stoma (medicine)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In medicine, a stoma (Greek - plr. stomata) is an opening, usually an unnatural or surgically created opening which connects a portion of the body cavity to the outside environment. One well-known form of a stoma is a colostomy, which is a surgically-created opening in the large intestine that allows the removal of feces out of the body, bypassing the rectum, to drain into a bag or other collection device. The historical practice of trepanation was also a type of stoma.

Ileostomy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An ileostomy is a stoma that has been constructed by bringing the end of the small intestine (the ileum) out onto the surface of the skin. Intestinal waste passes out of the ileostomy and is collected in an external bag stuck to the skin. Ileostomies are usually sited above the groin on the right hand side of the abdomen.