Hey Pam

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I have not had abdominal surgery, but know a slew of people who have. Like Duck said, it depends on how they have to do the surgery. The less invasive the incision, the better you'll be for recovery.

With that, the recovery will be long. It's in an area that gets a lot of use, so just being able to get up and move around will be a challenge in the beginning. I do recommend trying to walk as soon as possible. People seemed to have done better getting moving when it was allowed, even if taking only a few steps. If they do the long cut, it's going to be pretty gross to look at. So try to arrange for someone to help change your dressings for you once you get home. Again if you have it done laproscopically, that will be less of an issue. You're probably going to be on a bland diet for a while too, and perhaps stool softeners while that heals down there. I had surgery for a fistula (I have crohn's) and was on those for about a week. I was afraid to eat anything anyway, so I relied a lot on jello and broth. My incision was closer to the end of the pipe

A lot of the people I know who've had surgeries have crohn's or ulcerative colitis. They all have described it as being painful, but have rebounded well. Some are marathon runners, and have gotten back into their sports just fine. One is a cyclist and we chatted about his recent surgery. He said it took him about 8 months to really get back to where he was on the bike.

I know this is all anecdotal, but hopefully it helps give you some perspective. Thankfully they found it and you can be treated. I also can't stress enough getting stomach issues checked, especially if you have red flag symptoms. I didn't have colon cancer, but I did find out I have crohn's. Of course these are rare conditions, but best to be preventative.

Good luck Pam!