Introduction:

Returning to work is an important cancer recovery milestone. Permanent colostomy can be required for rectal cancer treatment and can significantly impact well-being. We aimed to evaluate the impact of permanent colostomy on health-related quality of life and return to work in patients with rectal cancer.

Methods:

This was a retrospective cohort study on 23 employed patients receiving curative surgery for rectal cancer requiring permanent colostomy. Demographic and health-related quality-of-life questionnaires (the Colostomy Impact Score (CIS), the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30, and the EORTC QLQ-CR29) were posted to eligible patients.

Results:

On average, patients (10 female, 13 male, mean age 61.8 years) were 5.0 ± 3.5 years post-surgery. At the time of questioning, 73.9% had returned to work (21.7% changed their type of work), while 17.4% never returned to work. Of those that returned to work, 11.8% returned within 1 month of surgery, while 23.5% had not returned after 12 months. Comparison of CIS between patients that returned to the same work (14.6 ± 0.93), changed their work (13.0 ± 0.74), and did not return to work (14.3 ± 2.3) revealed no significant differences (p = 0.36). CIS did not correlate with days worked on return, or time to return to work (p > 0.05).

Conclusion:

Returning to work following rectal cancer treatment with permanent colostomy is challenging, with 17.4% never returning to work. Of those who returned to work, 23.5% required more than 12 months. This was not associated with CIS in our study. (AU)