Breaking the Stigma of Bowel Cancer
- TV personality Adele Roberts, 43, bared all in a new interview and cover for Women’s Health about living with an ostomy pouch amid stage 2 bowel cancer.
- Roberts had surgery last October to remove a bowel tumor and is currently in the midst of chemotherapy treatment. The good-humored cancer warrior even has a name for her colostomy bag: Audrey.
- Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel, but generally we use the term colorectal canceror colon cancer or rectal cancer depending on the location. Symptoms of bowel cancer can include a change in bowel habits, blood in the stool, and cramping or abdominal (belly) pain.
An ostomy poutch, or colostomy bag, collects fecal matter from the digestive tract through the stoma, an opening in the wall of the abdomen.
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Roberts had surgery last October to remove a bowel tumor and is currently in the midst of chemotherapy treatment. The good-humored cancer warrior even has a name for her colostomy bag: Audrey.
The Big Brother alum told the mag that her cancer battle has actually even improved her body confidence.
"Being diagnosed with cancer has meant I've learned to appreciate my body; be grateful that it works; be grateful they found the tumor in time to remove it and be grateful [that modern medicine means I can] have a stoma,” she expressed. "I feel like I love my body more than ever.”
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"One in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives,” she said, “and I think the more we can actually talk about it, the less negatively affected people will be mentally, if and when that happens.”
"That's why it means so muchas someone undergoing cancer treatment and with a visible stomato be on the cover of Women's Health, she added."
Roberts said her partner Kate has been her strength throughout this journey.
"We've just got stronger and closer and it's made me realize what an incredible human she is,” she said. "She's been my strength and without her I don't think I'd be this upbeat.
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“I think it would have really got to me mentally … but every morning I see Kate I just feel blessed to wake up to her every single day."
Roberts went on to talk about Kate as a caregiver. "She's gone above and beyond what a relationship should be and she's been everything to me,” she shared proudly. “She's helped me dress my stoma. She's cared for me. She's been my nurse. She's been my mentor. She really loves me. I'm going to have to marry her.”
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"I think I look up to her now. I always knew she was very special. And I knew she was a good person. But now… she is somebody that I look to for inspiration."
What Is Bowel Cancer?
Bowel cancer is a general term for cancer that begins in the large bowel, but generally we use the term colorectal cancer or colon cancer or rectal cancer depending on the location in the United States.
Bowel cancer, like all cancers, presents its own unique challenges for patients on the road to recovery. But Dr. Heather Yeo, a surgical oncologist and colorectal surgeon at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, wants to remind people how far the treatment of this disease has come.
"One of the most exciting things about my job is that we've made a lot of progress on treatment options," Dr. Yeo says in a previous interview with SurvivorNet. "However, patients are still while they're living longer, they are still living with colon cancer, and so I think it's really important that we talk about how some of the things in your life affect you.”
Dr. Yeo also reminds people of the importance of colorectal screenings such as colonoscopies because most colorectal cancers can be prevented early with screening.
"In the United States, on a national level, colorectal cancer has been decreasing for the last 20 years," Dr. Yeo says. "And much of that is thought to be directly due to screening for colon cancer."
Symptoms of Bowel Cancer (Colorectal Cancer)
Colorectal cancer might not immediately cause symptoms, but these are possible symptoms to look out for:
- A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool that lasts for more than a few days
- A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that's not relieved by having one
- Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
- Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
- Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain
- Weakness and fatigue
- Unintended weight loss
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