Donation of Colostomy Bags from Canada

The arrival of ostomy bags for Mang Ver has been very timely. The ostomy appliances were courtesy of the friend of ostomates in canada under President Astrid.



Mang Ver, 53-years-old, as he is commonly called is a taxi driver by profession. He contracted a mass in the large intestine which at first he did not pay attention. He then noticed stomach cramps and constipation. When the symptoms presented itself, it was the only time that he went to the hospital for a check-up. It was found out that the mass had grown and had been blocking the passage of the stool that was causing his bloody diarrhea.

After a biopsy was made, it was found out to be rectal cancer. There and then, after the check-up, it was advised to have the cancer portion removed. He was diagnosed with rectal cancer and had his surgery for colostomy on February 27, 2008. This was succeeded with cobalt therapy for the next 25 days after being finally diagnosed with stage 2 rectal cancer.

Mang Ver is thankful for the donation of the supply of bags coming from FOW-C inasmuch as for the span of 6 months, beginning from February up to July, he was contented to use only 3 colostomy bags owing to the fact that they were poor and he had no work.

What he did to sustain the use of the wafer was that when the stomahesive wafer has dissolved with the white plastic remaining, he washes it out thoroughly and then reinforces it with the hard plastic from playing cards. The playing card is cut with a hole in the middle. He reattaches the overused colostomy bag and puts micropore tape around the stoma. Consequently, although well improvised, the bag continuously smells.

Due to financial constraints, He had been accustomed too of not wearing any colobag at one point of his life with the stoma exposed and hanging out. Because of this he stays inside his room and has since then stop driving/working as a taxi driver. He used to sell food as a way to earn but then his neighbors never bought from him learning upon his condition.

Mang Ver tells me that the bags will be a lot of help and will somehow bring him back some confidence in mingling with his friends and neighbors again. Hopefully, it can possibly give him enough courage to get back to mainstream society and go back to work as a taxi driver once again.

Securing the Ostomy Clip Bag

We are all familiar with the reliable rubber band. It is a short length of rubber and latex formed in the shape of a loop. These bands are typically used to hold multiple objects together.

We get to play with rubber bands when we were still small. However, up to now it still serves a lot of purpose especially for ostomy living.

I consider the rubber band as an additional ostomy appliance too. I have several of them kept along my ostomy kit. For added security, I use them to secure the removable clip of my colostomy bag. It gives me extra confidence that the clip although secured, will not further slip away.

I advise using rubber bands because I had accidents where the ostomy bag clip slipped away from pouch bag. This can happen in instances when I get to pull to change trousers or just getting stuck between chairs transferring from one one place to another. What can be more humiliating is the mess and smell not to mention the embarrassment when people around would get to find out about the spillage.

Hence, I always remember the saying “Better be safe than sorry.” Every moment, I don’t forget to secure my clip with a rubber band.