Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and surgery is the most common treatment for bowel cancer.

Often bowel cancer develops from polyps, or pre-cancerous growths. These can often be removed to prevent them becoming cancerous.

If cancer cells stay in the bowel or develop in the lining of bowel, then a local resection surgery, may be carried out. This removes the cancer from the colon or rectum.

More extensive surgery might be required to remove part of the colon that contains cancer. Nearby lymph nodes might also be removed. Once the cancer is removed, the remaining ends of the bowel may be reconnected.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy might also be recommended, depending on whether the cancer has spread or if there is a risk of it spreading to other parts of the body. 

Following surgery, you might need to have a stoma if the ends of the bowel cannot be reconnected. This is where part of the bowel is brought out through an opening in your abdomen, and the bowel then empties into a stoma bag.

At JMW, we often work with clients who have needed bowel surgery and have needed a stoma and understand the impact this can have, especially at first. 

If the remaining ends of the bowel cannot be re-joined after surgery, you may need to have a permanent stoma. You may also have a temporary stoma if the bowel needs to recover following surgery which might then be reversed at a later date.

Often if you are likely to need a stoma, the medical team and a stoma care nurse will discuss this with you before your operation. It is not always possible for the medical team to know whether you will need a stoma in advance. Sometimes this can only be known during the surgery.

Having a stoma can be daunting, but specialist support from stoma care nurses will help with guidance on how to manage the stoma, how to change the stoma bags and to choose the right sort of stoma bag for you. You might find that making some changes to your diet might help manage the stoma output. There might be other things in day-to-day life that might feel challenging at first but there are lots of people with a stoma who live a normal life.

There is also a lot of support available from support groups. Colostomy UK has a wide range of information leaflets and articles offering guidance on all aspects of life with a stoma, from top tips for running, swimming and keeping active to skincare.

There are also a list of local support groups that may be in your area that can offer advice and a place to meet others who have a stoma. Colostomy UK also have a free helpline that can be called 24 hours a day: 0800 328 4257.

There are around 200,00 people in the UK living with a stoma and this might be needed not just following cancer treatment, but also for other conditions such as diverticulitis or Crohn’s Disease.

Colostomy UK aim to empower and support those living with a stoma. We support their Stoma Aware campaign to help people access the information and support they might need.