Gastric & colorectal cancer
12 articles shown
Told to Prepare Adult Absorbent Products Before Rectal Surgery — Choosing Pads and Diapers for Leakage and Protecting Your Skin
Before and after rectal or anal surgery, bowel prep and changes in stool control can cause leakage of stool or mucus, so adult absorbent products are sometimes prepared in advance. Choose by absorbency, size, and ease of changing, care for wet skin quickly to prevent incontinence-associated dermatitis, and confirm product choices with your care team.
When Your Post-Surgery Chemo Ends but a CT Scan Isn't Booked — Understanding the Move from Treatment to Follow-Up Monitoring and How to Confirm Your Schedule
Why a CT scan often isn't booked right after your final round of adjuvant chemotherapy, how the first surveillance scan is timed, how colorectal cancer follow-up is structured, and how to confirm your own schedule.
What a Bowel-and-Food Diary Can Reveal After Surgery — Tracking Recovery with the Bristol Stool Scale
How keeping a simple bowel-and-food diary, and describing stool with the Bristol Stool Scale, can help track recovery after bowel or ostomy-reversal surgery and flag warning signs worth discussing with a clinician.
When Thin Skin Peels Every Time You Remove a Pain Patch — Understanding Medical Adhesive-Related Skin Injury (MARSI) and Barrier Film Products
How fragile skin during cancer treatment can be torn when pain patches and tapes are removed (MARSI), what barrier film products do, gentle habits for applying and removing adhesives, and why to review pain control itself with your care team.
Can I Stop My Oral Chemo on My Own When Side Effects Get Bad? — Handling digestive side effects like heartburn on capecitabine (Xeloda), and why dose changes belong with your care team
When oral chemotherapy such as capecitabine (Xeloda) causes hard side effects like heartburn, the safest path lies between quitting alone and enduring everything — contact your team about a dose adjustment, a treatment pause, or symptom relief.
When Chemotherapy Stops Working and You Wonder About a Bigger Hospital — Second Opinions, Clinical Trials, and What Major Cancer Centers Can Add
When several chemotherapy regimens stop working and families wonder whether to move to a larger hospital, the framework of standard care is often similar everywhere — but major cancer centers can differ in clinical trial access, comprehensive molecular profiling (NGS), and multidisciplinary review. This piece explains how to seek a second opinion, what to bring, and how shared care can work.
When Your Portable Sitz Bath Breaks and You Need a New One — Why Warm Sitz Baths Help During Surgical and Chemo Recovery, and How to Do Them Safely
Why warm sitz baths can soothe the anal and perineal area during recovery from surgery or pelvic radiation, the basics of doing them safely (temperature, timing, hygiene), and infection and bleeding cautions during chemotherapy.
Your Cancer Hospital Is Far Away but the Local ER Sends You Back — How to Prepare for Emergencies When Treated at a Distant Center
Why local ERs may redirect cancer patients back to their distant treating center, how to prepare with an emergency summary and a first call to your care team, and what to weigh when considering transferring care closer to home.
Moving from the Diagnosing Hospital to a Larger Center: What to Bring and Where to Hand In Your Slides, Blocks, and Reports
A calm guide to the stained slides, paraffin blocks, and pathology reports you carry when moving from a diagnosing clinic to a larger cancer center — what each one is for and how to submit them.
Oral Targeted Cancer Pills: Is the Dose Based on Weight? Understanding On/Off Cycles and How to Check Costs
Oral targeted cancer pills are usually dosed by tolerance (side effects, organ function) rather than body weight, and on/off cycles differ by drug. Costs depend on insurance coverage and assistance programs — learn how to check with your hospital pharmacy and social work team.
Receiving Home Care Nursing After Discharge — What to Know When You're on a Feeding Tube, IV Fluids, and Parenteral Nutrition
An overview of home care nursing after hospital discharge — what it is, how nurses help manage feeding tubes, IV fluids, and parenteral nutrition at home, how to arrange it, what to check about coverage and cost, and the warning signs to watch for.
When Your New Stoma Barely Drains and a Tube Is Needed — Understanding Low Output, Blockage, and Early Diet Adjustment
Why a new stoma may drain little or need tube decompression (temporary bowel slowdown, blockage), how to ease into early eating, and the warning signs to watch for at home.