He explained that as he had suffered a heart attack in the past and had a history of diabetes he was used to monitoring and being aware of things happening to his system. He felt something was wrong when he noticed both fresh and old blood in his stool. He eventually made an appointment with his GP, who referred him for a barium enema and further tests at his local hospital. At a cardiology appoint his consultant requested his results for him and informed him that they were abnormal. He was then referred to a colorectal consultant and was seen within a week. He explained that there was no mention of cancer and that it was referred to as a blockage in his colon that needed to be removed.

He was admitted to hospital for surgery resulting in a temporary ileostomy. He explained that he had felt concerned after surgery about how much they had opened him up but relieved that the blockage had been removed. He explained that after surgery he had to learn how to manage his temporary ileostomy but that he received little instruction and support on how to care for his stoma, and only found the literature useful up to a point. He said that he had felt distressed and embarrassed as the hospital staff were able to see his waste coming out in liquid form. He was eventually discharged and provided with supplies to manage his stoma. He found that he was experiencing severe pain in his rectal area when at home despite taking painkillers. His aftercare nurse was concerned that he wasn’t showing signs of improvement and telephoned his consultant. He was readmitted to hospital for emergency surgery as they had found a post-operative abscess at the rectum site. He lost a lot of weight and was left with a permanent colostomy as well as his temporary ileostomy due to damage to the digestive tract. Although he was distressed he felt too weak to be concerned. He was in hospital for 6 weeks. He found that at first it ruled his life as it would balloon and burst, and he felt quite depressed. He explained that learning to manage both his ileostomy and colostomy bags was a steep-learning curve. He had found his wife was stalwart and an invaluable source of support to him throughout the whole experience. He believed it was important to set himself daily goals, such as getting up and out of bed. He said that they don’t explain how much it will impact on your life and your way of living. In particular, he felt that no one ever discussed how it would have an effect on his sex life. He found that after radical surgery it took time to regain some form of normality, not only with intimacy but also everyday tasks, such as driving a car and food shopping.

He felt that having the bags impacted negatively on his social life and self-confidence. He explained that although people never took offence, he would worry about extraneous noises from the bag as he had no control over it. He described how it has stopped him doing certain things such as swimming. He also had volunteered at a number of charity organisations but was unable to remain involved with them all. He described how he went back to a reasonable normality after the reversal of his temporary ileostomy. He felt that his outlook was brighter and he started to gain weight again. He found the colostomy bag easy to manage and unobtrusive. He finds great comfort in being able to interact with his family as normal. He explained that he pushed himself to get better as he has a special needs child and wanted to be able support his wife in looking after her. He found some of the best support from a spiritual point of view, his family and friends would pray for him. He found this reassuring. He also joined a foundation and supported other patients when he could, as he feels it is important to show other people with similar experiences that there is a brighter side and you do regain a life balance.

He felt that it was important to be honest with his family, especially his children, about his condition. His family had found the missing; formal diagnosis difficult to deal with and this led his wife to distrust that the cancer was gone. He did find that his condition helped cement family relationships. He became closer to his sister and found her a great comfort throughout his experience. He explained that he isn’t frightened of the word cancer;. He understood the dangers but felt confident that they had caught it early. He feels that health professionals need to be more open in explaining cancer as it is better to know what you are dealing with and what action is necessary. He believes it is important to be positive and has an optimistic outlook on the future. He feels confident about where he is at now.