Chemo is, you know, there are some of the toughest drugs and that the body can have and can be trying to fight, so your poor little body is doing a really good job at dealing with all of those really harsh drugs. So be kind to it.

My chemo started so soon after my stoma was created.

I was still getting used to food so I could eat and couldn’t eat, so I did have to be pretty careful with foods eating high fibre foods meant that my output was a lot higher. They tell you in the hospital to eat low residue foods, but they’re all the foods that you think “I really don’t want to eat”. It’s all the foods that you think is having very little nutrition when you’re trying to build yourself up during, during your chemo treatment, during your cancer treatment.

The other side effect is because I had a lot of acid indigestion, I couldn’t eat enough food or the types of foods that I want to eat to keep my system moving.

So I wasn’t always getting as good nutrition as I needed to at that point, which again wasn’t keeping the stoma working as well as it could.

But so I did try to introduce more high fibre foods and my porridge that I love in the mornings. I wasn’t going to not have my porridge! And I just kind of dealt with the implications of it. Which just meant changing the bag or draining it, cleaning it out and emptying it just a bit more frequently during chemo treatment. Till my system got used to having more of those high fibre foods.

One of the areas to be really conscious of when you’re going through chemo with a stoma is to ensure that you’re not getting dehydrated because with bowel cancer, chemo sometimes you’re sensitive to the cold and cold drinks. So you don’t tend to drink enough.

So you’ve got to be conscious of and careful to make sure that you’re drinking enough so you’re not getting dehydrated because the chemotherapy can cause constipation. And then if you’re not drinking enough as well, that can lead to even more constipation, which can be really uncomfortable and can cause all sorts of other problems.

So just try to make sure that you’re drinking even more so that, we’re keeping our system working and it’s really good just to flush out all those chemicals also. So you know, keep drinking as much water as you can.

My belief is that a little of what you fancy does you good. So a healthy, balanced diet for us with a stoma just try to have a healthy, balanced diet, maintain a healthy balanced diet. Sometimes it’s easy just to eat some of those really low residue, bland foods. But just to try and avoid irritating the stoma or having too much output. But having a really a good just healthy balanced diet is the best thing to do during chemo and drinking lots of water.

Practical tips for diet and hydration

With so much going on it’s important to look after your body. Try some of these tips:

• Don’t feel like eating? Try to keep up a varied diet even if it’s in small amounts. You may find that eating 4-6 smaller meals throughout the day is better than 2-3 larger meals.
• Avoid eating late – Try not to eat large meals late in the evening to decrease the amount of output overnight.
• Keep a journal – make a note of the effect certain foods have on your stoma.
• Chew well – help your digestive process by chewing your food into smaller pieces, especially foods like peanuts, or other solids that could cause a blockage.
• Looser output can lead to dehydration so it’s important to keep your fluid levels up. If you are at all concerned, speak to your stoma care or oncology nurse right away.

So in terms of dexterity, using the stoma bag, the oncologist did tell me beforehand that I may need help to use the bag and my hands might become so difficult and clumsy to use, that I might need help.

I didn’t luckily enough, but it just became more difficult. You know, my hands were definitely a lot more clumsy, and it’s harder to do more sort of pernickety little things.

So again, getting your bags precut for you and trying to have everything ready, so having the kit ready there in the in the toilet all ready. Just having things pre prepared just makes it all a little bit easier.

So another tip that I would give to people if they can is to make sure that get your bags precut by your supplier because it just means it’s less hassle and you know when you go through chemo every little thing that you can do just to make life a bit less difficult

Whoever you get your bags from, your manufacturer or your home delivery company, they can precut your bags to your stoma size. So, if you’re not having that done already, that’s definitely a big tip, even if you’re not going through chemo. That’s just a really good tip.

The oncologist suggested to me when he said my hands might get so bad, he was saying, you know, try to get trousers that don’t have buttons in them and at the start I thought what really is it going to be that extreme? Actually, I did end up just having kind of slouchy jogging bottoms.

So even though I thought at the start, no way that’s not gonna happen to me. It was brilliant. You know, just to have kind of jogging bottoms that you can just pull up and down. So, wearing kind of stretchy clothes. Is is good. You know, for a number of reasons.

Practical tips for helping with dexterity

Change your routine to suit you! Why not:

• Consider pre-cut baseplates so you don’t have to use scissors – speak to your stoma care nurse or home delivery company as they should be able to help with this.
• Ask about different pouches that you might find easier:

– Ask about a 1-piece solution if you find changing your whole pouch easier.

– Consider a drainable pouch if emptying a pouch is better for you.

– Or if you are struggling changing a full system, consider a 2-piece with added protection of an absorbent seal for increased weartime.

• Why not create kits of all products you need in your bathroom so you don’t have to look for anything when a change is needed.
• Think comfortable! Wear whatever makes you feel warm and cosy. Trousers that pull up as opposed to buttons, warm slippers and gloves are good when your hands or feet are feeling numb or sore.
• Keep your routine simple. Choose what feels right for you and ask for pouch and accessory samples until you find your perfect match – just like your favourite jumper.

During the chemo treatment I had cold sensitivity and I had neuropathy in my hands and my feet and depending on the kind of bowel cancer chemo that you have, you may get a cold sensitivity. Most, the majority of people probably do get cold sensitivity in their hands.

Which means that you can’t touch anything cold, or you get like very, very, very strong pins and needles and or little kind of electric shocks in hands. So even walking around Marks and Spencer touching food and taking things out of your fridge, touching door handles, even sitting on cold toilet seats, you know, things like touching cold toilet seats, those will affect your hands and give you little kind of like almost shocks in your hands.

And I found that it’s really weird. Actually, I could remember one day I was I made myself a smoothie and went to lift it, and I just dropped on the floor. And it was so strange that I just couldn’t quite coordinate my hands.

I still have neuropathy, more so in my hands because I kept my feet very, whether this helped or not, I don’t know. But I think it did that, I kept my feet really warm during the chemo infusion, and I did take gloves with me. I came kitted out every chemo session I came kitted out and the nurses would always laugh and say how long are you staying? But I had, like everything I had gloves with me, I had warm boots. I had a blanket. I had all sorts of stuff with my, snacks. I had lukewarm water, tepid water.

Practical tips for managing cold sensitivity

If you have sensitivity in your hands and feet, consider some of the following tips:

• Keep warm! Get some cosy slippers and clothes and consider using gloves to keep your hands and feet warm.
• Certain things may be very cold to touch, consider placing extra pairs of gloves near the fridge to remind you to wear them or in your handbag/coat for when you are out.
• Talk to your stoma care or oncology nurse if you’re experiencing burning sensations or tingling in your hands and feet.