Low Rectal Cancer

The Plan for Enema Rectal Cancer Bowel Management

The daily enema program is very unique and it may not work for you. There are several issues that need to be resolved before you can feel comfortable with the program as described in this web site:

 

1. Commitment. You have to have experienced the consequences of low rectal surgery for awhile to determine if you can adjust to your new bowel functions. After about 6 months you may find that minor adjustments in scheduling, diet  and medication may be enough to compensate for your new body. In this case, the daily enema program is probably not right for you. It takes almost a "desperate" person to really try the program with a full commitment to making it work. Without this total commitment, the program is doomed to failure.

 

2. Consistency. The program is designed to be used daily. The ease of doing an enema as described is the result of having an almost empty colon. The water will not quickly flood your colon if it is full of stool accumulated over many days. Once you make the program part of your daily routine, the commitment is easy to accept. If you do the enema only when you are uncomfortable or having problems with frequency or incontinence the program will fail.

 

3. Supportive Spouse. This program will not work unless your spouse or significant other is supportive and as committed as you are. Your spouse is the only other person in your life who even needs to know that you are using a daily enema to deal with rectal cancer surgery. I had been doing the daily enema for over 12 years before my grown children were even aware that I did the daily enema. Without their full and unquestioning support, the program will fail.

4. Attitude. How you mentally view the program will have a terrific effect on the success of the program. If you resent the daily enema and have a negative self image because of them, you will fail. If you look at the program as an opportunity to live a full and healthy life after low rectal cancer surgery with minimum consequences, you will succeed. It is truly "all in your mind".

 

How to Start a bowel management program.

  

Initiation of the program is not a final commitment to continue for the rest of your life.  You can buy the drug store enema experiment and see how it affects your bowel functions and determine if you want to move into the program on a long term.  Here is a possible approach that may work for you: 

• Buy a standard enema combination bag from your pharmacy if you do not now own one.

• Do several enemas in a row with the standard equipment to totally empty your colon.  You can use the standard position of lying on your side on a towel on the bathroom floor.  Get used to the feeling of doing an enema.

• Try doing an enema every day for a week or so with the standard equipment and see if your bowel functions can be brought into your control and not the other way around.

• Become educated.  Use the Internet to learn more about your condition and how enemas may help you.  Google search on the following key words or any combination that sounds interesting like; Low Rectal Cancer, Bowel Function, Quality of Life, Enema, How to do an enema, Bowel management, J-Pouch, Low anterior resection, Etc, etc, etc and be inventive.

• If you decide to move forwards, buy the correct equipment over the web.

• Start the morning shower enema program and refine the technique to meet your needs.  Try to improve on the suggested technique based on how your body responds to the enema. 
• After you get comfortable with the morning enema don’t be afraid to do an enema even if you are travelling and staying in a hotel or at someone’s house. You may find that your new program is very easy and you can continue it no matter where you travel. I have travelled extensively over the past 12 years and have done the daily enema in hotels across the country and in Europe. 

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