Hi Tom I had colorectal surgery in July. Thought it was stage 2 initially but after surgery they upped me to stage 3. Found it in a lymph node. So off to chemo for me. This was my first surgery... and what a kicker! Wasn't real nice. it was about 20cm of bowel removed, which included the top of my rectum. It also included an ileostomy, which was a whole new life experience. was only supposed to be about 6 weeks, but then I needed chemo. I feel fortunate that my chemo only needed to be 3 months instead of 6. I couldn't cope with the chemo. I ended up in hospital with 3 out of 4 cycles. Eventually had my ileostomy reversed in December. That was a strange 2 months of trying to relearn what my body had forgotten. This was a time that I thought I'd getting over it all, but I was house bound. Couldn't stray far from the bathroom. Many times I just wanted the ileostomy back. It was far worse than I expected. Things are still a bit unstable. My missing pieces mean I'll never be the same, but I'm able to get back to doing normal things. i've got a couple of years of checkups ahead of me, but in the current climate, appointments are by phone and future treatments are deferred. I hope that helps. The biggest lesson I've learnt on my journey is that everyone's experience is different, even when they are the same. All the best. Cheers Portly Phil
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