Shirley's Story

Hi, my name is Shirley. I have had bowel cancer twice in 2 years. The 1st was in my caecum (near my appendix) for which I had a hemicolectomy and 10 lymph nodes removed. I also had 6 months of chemo (5-FU). Towards the end of my treatment, I started to get strange bleeding vaginally, and my 1st thought was that it was cervical cancer.

I went to my GP who then referred me to the fast-track gynae service at the same hospital where I'd had my surgery, etc.

They rummaged around, took various samples, then gave me the glad tidings two weeks later that they'd found another cancerous tumour. Oh joy! What was more, they could do nothing unless it was shrunk significantly. (Before I continue further, I should mention that the 1st was diagnosed Jan 2004, this 2nd was diagnosed Jan 2005.)

The oncologist and surgeon then told me that, when it was shrunk enough, they would perform a hysterectomy and either a temporary ileostomy or permanent colostomy. This was because the tumour was in a very nasty area-between my vaginal wall and rectum, hence the strange bleeding.

I then had 6 cycles of chemo and 5 weeks of radiotherapy.

Once my body had recovered from all this, I had a PET, CT and MRI scan, which thankfully showed that it had shrunk by 2/3rds and was localised with no mets. But of course, during all this time,I had the surgery on my mind. It was finally done 27 October 2005, and the surgeon managed to do a temporary ileostomy, which I am getting used to.

The surgery saved my life, but I may need more chemo as a precaution. This could delay the reversal, but it will be worth it to finally be rid of this awful disease. I feel there IS life after a stoma - you just have to be patient and stay positive.

...Shirley

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