Experiences With Reversal After Rectal Cancer

Experiences with Reversal After Rectal Cancer

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225

KRachel

Jun 09, 2025 8:56 am

Good morning

Just wanted to check and see the experience of others with reversal after rectal cancer. I have an ileostomy at the moment, which I am glad I could have and that it saved my life. But as a 47-year-old, I decided to go for the reversal option; stoma for life was very scary, and the thought of it really scared me. Thinking that they would remove my organs for life was the deciding point to try and see if reversal was possible for me. I had 5 days of radiotherapy and 4 cycles of CAPOX before my LAR last December. At the moment, I am coming close to the date. I am doing pelvic floor exercises every day and was advised to use a mini irrigation system to help me prepare. Please let me know your experiences; I heard of positive and negative from the Bowel Cancer UK forum. I know everyone is different, and there are no two cases the same, as well as to prepare for a rough few weeks post-surgery. Thank you, and best wishes to all of you. Kat.

IGGIE

Jun 09, 2025 2:39 pm

G-Day KR,

What kind of reversal are you going to have?

Regards, IGGIE

KRachel

Jun 12, 2025 8:29 am

Hi IGGIE, I will have an ileostomy reversal; I had it fitted during treatment for rectal cancer. It will be reversed in July. Thank you for your message. Kat

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Posted by: Bagface

Angelica- As usual, you've written another interesting post. February 5th, 2019, was my reversal surgery after having an ileo for 6 months. I'm one of those fortunate success stories. Of course, things are different now, and I still have to be careful about what and how much I eat, as I don't have a colon. At first, I was afraid to leave the house. My biggest fear was having to use a public bathroom and have the toilet not flush! Even now, when I know that I'll be in someone else's home, I won't eat anything beforehand. I read other people's stories and sometimes feel guilty for having had it so easy, not to mention that I have a significant other who is 100 percent supportive. I've gotten so much out of this website and truly feel for those of you who have it so much worse than I. But I feel it necessary to let folks hear about the success stories.