Can I have a normal life after an ostomy?
Will I still be able to go swimming?
How will an ostomy affect my sex life?

Join us on April 17, 2013 from 3:00pm – 4:00pm ET for our live webinar as we discuss how to adapt to life after a colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy. We will address the myths and facts about ostomies and provide resources and tips on living a full, healthy, and happy life with one.

Our presenters for this webinar are David Rudzin and Susan Burns, president and vice president, respectively, of United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA).  Both of our presenters live with ostomies, and they will share their personal and professional tips about living and adapting to life with an ostomy.

Discussion topics will include:
- What is an ostomy?
- What are the different types of ostomies I may require?
- What are the psychosocial issues I may experience when living with an ostomy?
- To whom and where can I turn with questions?

Click here to register for the webinar.  And on our website, you can also read an inspiring, first-person account, “My Ostomy Doesn’t Slow Me Down,” written by Fight Colorectal Cancer’s Director of Research Communications Kate Murphy.

If you’re in need of ostomy supplies and can’t afford them, or if you would like additional information and resources about living with an ostomy, call us on the Fight Colorectal Cancer Answer Line at 1-877-427-2111.

A new appliance that eliminates the need for ostomates to wear an external pouch has received pre-marketing approval by the FDA.

Expected to be on the US market in the next few months. the Vitala™ device, seals the stoma, preventing stool from leaving the body for up to 8 hours.  Intestinal gas is filtered and vented to prevent odor.

An external pouch will still be needed for wear longer than 8 hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Briefly: Health care providers are less likely to recommend colorectal cancer screening to their patients with a high school education or less.  IV ibuprofen enhances morphine to control post-operative pain, reducing pain and letting patients use less morphine.

Superspreaders with dirty hands infect large numbers of patients with hospital-borne infections.

The United Ostomy Associations of America has a new video for new and potential ostomates that provides encouragement and support, and CR Magazine’s monthly podcast provides help coping with medical testing stress. Read the rest of this entry »

Standup comic Brenda Elsagher was once voted the funniest woman in the Twin Cities.  Calling her doctor the “rear admiral”, she’s featured in a TV report on colorectal cancer on WCCO, Minneapolis talking about the importance of colonoscopies and colorectal cancer prevention.

Brenda is a research advocate for C3 and weaves colorectal cancer prevention and survivorship messages into her comedy routines, her motivational speaking, and a regular blog.

Diagnosed in her thirties, Brenda has a colostomy that she talks about freely and with humor.  In If the Battle is Over Why am I Still in Uniform: Humor as a Survival Tactic to Combat Cancer she discusses her journey with colon cancer, her ostomy, and how laughter helped her come to terms and cope.

She collected the stories of over eighty people affected by ostomies — ostomates, caregivers, medical professionals — in I’d Like to Buy a Bowel Please.

In addition to her work with C3, she is active with the United Ostomy Association of Minneapolis and is part of the NCI Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities (CARRA) program.

A new network of ostomy support groups — the United Ostomy Associations of America — has been formed to provide information, support, and advocacy for people with bowel and urinary diversion and the local groups that work with them. UOAA began operations on October 1, 2005 and has opened a website as part of their initial efforts. Members of UOAA will not be individuals, but organizations that serve and support people with ostomies.

The United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc. describes itself:

UOAA is a national network for bowel and urinary diversion support groups in the United States. Its goal is to provide a nonprofit association that will serve to unify and strengthen its member support groups, which are organized for the benefit of people who have, or will have intestinal or urinary diversions and their caregivers.

People with ostomies or concerns about a potential ostomy can find a nearby support groupamong the affiliate members on the UOAA website.

The new website has an active Discussion Board where people can ask questions and receive help. Since October 1, there have been nearly 2,400 posts made to its forums by almost 500 participants.

Future plans call for a magazine The Phoenix and an annual conference as well as providing support and information for local associations.

When the United Ostomy Association ceased operations on September 30, 2005 local support organizations were left without support of their own. Local groups provide support and education for people with ostomies and their caregivers. Some hold regular group meetings, some have provided hospital visitors or supportive phone calls to newly diagnosed patients. However, dwindling membership, reduced funding and increased costs of operation made continuing UOA impossible. UOA closed after 43 years of service.

An ostomy is a surgically created opening in the skin to divert either urine or feces from their normal route in the body.