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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Carry Bag Always, Removed Colon Cancer. Normal Life?

Hi doctor, my brother just has his colon cancer removed and he is still in the hospital. After his second operation he was told he can't go to have a big business in the bathroom, but he has to carry a bag for the rest of his life. Can my brother live a normal life despite the bag? How dangerous is it? What is the cause that he can't do it in a normal way from his behind (sorry I don't know the medical terminology)? FYI: we don't have a history for any cancer include the colon cancer. How long is the life expectancy when a person has to carry the bag? Thank you in advance for your brief explanation.
Fri, 4 Oct 2013
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Oncologist, Surgical,  's  Response
It appears by your description that your brother is suffering from rectum cancer (lowest part of colon) and has undergone a surgery in which the rectum has been completely removed and a permanent colostomy has been made (colostomy is a hole in the abdominal wall through which the patient passes stools and on which the bag is fixed). If this is the case then this is a permanent irreversible thing and your brother will never pass stools from below. However, besides the bag, he will lead a normal life. After a while (1-2 months), he wont even need a bag as he will just empty the colostomy of all the stools 2-3 times daily himself. Also, the colostomy will be below the belt-line and so not be visible. His life expectancy is not affected by the bag. It will be decided by the stage of the disease which will come in the final biopsy report. For stage 1 and 2 colon cancers, the cure rates are quite high, in the range of 70-75% and he stands a good chance of living a normal life.
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Carry Bag Always, Removed Colon Cancer. Normal Life?

It appears by your description that your brother is suffering from rectum cancer (lowest part of colon) and has undergone a surgery in which the rectum has been completely removed and a permanent colostomy has been made (colostomy is a hole in the abdominal wall through which the patient passes stools and on which the bag is fixed). If this is the case then this is a permanent irreversible thing and your brother will never pass stools from below. However, besides the bag, he will lead a normal life. After a while (1-2 months), he wont even need a bag as he will just empty the colostomy of all the stools 2-3 times daily himself. Also, the colostomy will be below the belt-line and so not be visible. His life expectancy is not affected by the bag. It will be decided by the stage of the disease which will come in the final biopsy report. For stage 1 and 2 colon cancers, the cure rates are quite high, in the range of 70-75% and he stands a good chance of living a normal life.