Living with an Ostomy: Women's Long Term Experiences (Report‪)‬

Introduction Some diseases, e.g. bowel cancer, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and bowel inflammation may require the surgical removal of a diseased part of the small or large intestine and the remaining intestine is attached to an opening in the abdomen; a stoma, allowing normal bodily wastes to be expelled (1, 2). A person living with an ostomy has to confront many different challenges, including both bodily and psychological adaptation. The bodily adaptations involve practical handling of the stoma. Psychological adaptation involves an initial grief reaction to the loss of a body part or to an altered body. The adaptation continues with acceptance and adjustment to an altered body, body image and self image (2, 3).