Abstract:
In a time where breast cancer and prostate cancer are openly talked about in public discourse, other conditions such as Colorectal Cancer and other gastro complaints are hidden in silence, surrounded by embarrassment and shame. Although ‘pooping’ or the bodies way of ridding itself of the waste products of digestion, is a normal, natural thing that everyone, no matter their age, race, gender does, gut functions are something that are not openly talked about, especially in regards to when things go wrong. To understand what contributes to this relative silence, I have drawn upon my own experience as a patient with Ulcerative Colitis in an auto-ethnography to reflect on my inability to talk about my gastro symptoms, as I did not have the language I felt comfortable using to express what was happening to my body. To understand whether this was purely a subjective, individual experience, or whether other people had the same barriers, I also conducted a thematic analysis of gastro patient stories to further gain insight into the lived experience of being a gastro patient. Finally to understand what it is about our society that contributes to this silence, I conducted interviews with three informants from the medical profession to understand how patients articulate their experiences with gut functions going wrong.
