Anxieties are eased by talking to someone who¡¯s been there
When Marshall Loosier was diagnosed with rectal cancer and underwent a colostomy 15 years ago, he worried about how the surgery would change his life.
¡°I thought my activities would be very limited, and I¡¯d have to stay on the sidelines,¡± he says.
But today, Loosier is playing golf, riding horses, chasing cows and enjoying life.¡°The colostomy was an adjustment, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as I imagined.¡±
To perform a colostomy, a surgeon creates an opening called an ostomy in the abdomen, then brings the end of the large intestine through the opening. This provides a new path for waste materials to leave the body while avoiding the rectum. A pouch worn beneath a person¡¯s clothing collects waste.
Initially, Loosier was self-conscious about how he looked and anxious about being in public. He assumed everyone would notice that he was wearing a pouch. But the truth was, most people couldn¡¯t tell.
¡°And if they did figure it out, they didn¡¯t care,¡± he says.
Today, Loosier has formed a two-person support team to assist other MD Anderson patients who¡¯ve undergone colostomies. Loosier and fellow volunteer and cancer survivor Billie Bond traverse the hospital hallways, meeting with patients before and after their surgeries to answer questions and offer reassurance.
¡°If we can walk into a room looking normal, it helps put people¡¯s fears at ease,¡± Loosier says.
Those one-on-one interactions give him the opportunity to provide for others what he wishes had been available to him: someone to talk to.
Patient to patient
Natalie Gallagher, a nurse who teaches patients how to care for ostomies, says the patient-to-patient connection Loosier and Bond provide is a gift.
¡°Patients ask me, ¡®What if my pouch falls off while I¡¯m asleep?¡¯ I tell them they¡¯ll get used to the pouch and begin to trust it, but they don¡¯t necessarily believe me,¡± Gallagher says. ¡°But if they hear it from Marshall, they¡¯ll know it¡¯s true because he lives with it every day.¡±
That kind of connection can make the difference between someone getting back to living life and living in fear, Gallagher says.
¡°When we think about the future after this type of surgery, we tend to imagine the worst,¡± Loosier says.¡°But I¡¯m still chasing my grandkids and having fun.¡±
