Apologies for the lack of ‘blogs’ over the past few days. Unfortunately time has been swallowed up by medical appointments and other obligations, which tend to impact ‘blogging’ output. I actually have a few things in the diary for the next week or two, so whilst ‘blogs’ will be posted, I might not be able to be as prolific as I have been up until now.

That being said, I think Blog 13 is the perfect time to introduce the whole biohazard element that came with my treatment. Now, at the risk of sharing too much information, I had no comprehension that a) some chemicals used to treat you during chemo can be quite toxic, and b) because your body gets rid of them through ‘bodily waste products’ (to put it delicately), chemo patients often remain a bit of a ‘biohazard’ for a couple of days after treatment.

Mind you, this can also be true of certain radiation treatments. A friend of mine was telling me about her adventures with a particular tablet during radiation treatment. Briefly, she had to be isolated in a room to take the tablet and couldn’t leave or have any contact with other people until Geiger counter readings reached a certain level that deemed her safe. Very pleased that experience hasn’t been part of my journey.

Anyway, I learned from the Cancer Care nurses that basically I was in my own words ‘a potential biohazard’ after a chemo session and if for any reason I was sick or had any little ‘accident’, the cleaning up needed to be done with gloves and be double bagged. I was given some nifty little yellow ‘Danger Biohazard’ bags to take with me, and was also told to inform family/friends about my potential toxicity issue which should pass after 2 days of finishing a chemo session.

I have added a link containing information on Chemotherapy Safety below for those who are interested.

Normally I think being a potential ‘biohazard’ for a couple of days as part of treatment would not be a huge issue. However, I had an extra little bonus in my world that complicated things a bit.

Apologies in advance, as this next bit may be a little bit too much for some of you, because believe me, it was almost way too much for me! I have mentioned it in a couple of my ‘blogs’ but I think now is the time to introduce you properly to my stoma aka “Stomey’. A stoma is the physical opening on the stomach made when the bowel has to be diverted for some reason. In my case when my bowel decided to split open. Thank you cancer. In all honesty this was one aspect of my cancer adventure I struggled to share and still struggle to share. But whilst my experience with ‘Stomey’ was unenjoyable to say the least, it is actually very common and the number of people being given stoma’s, particularly with bowel cancer, is on the rise, so share I will.

I really want to be a bit sensitive here because the last thing I want to perpetuate is the stigma associated with stoma’s. The reality is, had I not had ‘Stomey’ I would be dead. I know a number of people who live permanently with stoma’s and handle them really well, just I personally struggled with having a stoma.

Anyway, life with ‘Stomey’ was odd. I think the best was to describe it was like having an organ (like your heart) on the outside of your body, in that it felt very un-natural. Basically not to mince words, I was pooping out of my stomach. This is not an easy thing to process. I had to learn to glue disposable bags onto the stoma, change it, clean it and all the while I was very very conscious that this was an living part of me that should really be inside my body. Plus, you have absolutely no control over a stoma. Some days it was flat and shrivelled, other days big and fat. Every time you changed the stoma bag was a bit like a lottery. It was beyond strange.

It also absolutely had a mind of it’s own. I would be sitting at a lunch and ‘Stomey’ would decide it was time to fart really loudly. There were many many times where I would cough loudly to cover horrendous farting noises only to be glared at by people because this was the time of COVID, when a cough was probably worse than a fart. You don’t actually ‘feel’ much with a stoma so it was always a game of “Surprise” in terms of when waste would be released. I sort of taught myself how to guess when things ‘might’ happen and I do believe terms like “good Stomey” would be said when I guessed correctly. For example I would time things like shopping where I could get to the shops and back without having to deal with bag changing in public toilets. I was so proud of ‘us’ when it all went to plan. However, I do remember a couple of occasions where I was having a lovely grocery shop only to be rudely interrupted by the feeling of things happening on my stomach. A stoma bag can fill up quickly and get very very heavy. To the untrained eye it would have looked as if a little balloon was self inflating under my top. Needless to say, there were a number of times my shopping was abandoned at the check out as I sprinted to the car and raced home to deal with an unexpected ‘Stomey’ situation. I also ended up in hospital once with a stoma blockage, but that is a very good story for another ‘blog’.

Now, the whole biohazard chemo thing became slightly more complicated when combined with a stoma. Stoma’s are basically live colon, so the impact of toxic waste coming out of it was a tad more potent than the normal way. Obviously extra precautions came into play and I really did stress about poor old ‘Stomey’ during the ‘toxic times’. There was a bit to it but ultimately the memory burnt into my brain, or more correctly nostrils, was the smell. Pooping out of your stomach seemed to enhance the toxic chemical smell for whatever reason! Writing about this now I can still smell the chemicals emanating from good old ‘Stomey’! I will not forget that smell as long as I live!

Ultimately, having ‘Stomey’ along for the ride, not only whilst I was in biohazard mode, but throughout my chemo journey, genuinely added an extra dimension to my cancer journey which I like to call STRESS. I think it says a lot about stoma’s and the stigma that still surrounds them that I was happy telling everyone about having cancer, but told very few people about poor old ‘Stomey’. I hid “Stomey” from friends and family. I wore big tops and even with people who knew, I never talked about it. After a year of living with it, I was able to ‘deal’ with my stoma, but I am rather ashamed at myself for never really embracing it in a more positive way. I know I was blessed because I was able to have it reversed and the day I could fart out my bottom again was a celebrated moment let me tell you! Never has a fart felt so good! However, I think if there is one take away for me, and maybe for others, is that stoma’s save lives. Hopefully time and more open discussion will help others feel less like I did, and encourage acceptance of stoma’s a little bit more in today’s society.

I have added information on stoma’s for anyone interested here. https://www.healthline.com/health/stoma

More information on this can be found via this link regarding Chemotherapy safety precautions. https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/cancer-information/cancer-treatment/chemotherapy/safety-precautions/