Today at the funeral of a guy, I met a lady whom I know had a colostomy bag about two years ago and doing great. She is about 70 years old. She was telling me that she got the tumour removed and refused chemo and radiation and yesterday (Friday) she was due to have the bag reversed but couldn't because the guy was her relative and had to attend the funeral. Wasn't that a brave/hard decision to make. It was her decision.
I really hope that you mean that she was due to have the colostomy reversed (which is a fairly simply procedure if it's only a loop colostomy, rather than an end colostomy). Reversing the bag sounds extremely messy and unpleasant to me!
sorry mamy - on reading the post again I know you meant the procedure but actually I meant refusing chemo and radiation two years ago. This lady is my friend's sister-in-law and friend wouldn't have had a clue two years ago as at the time my guess is that the concerned party would have kept it private. They live in the south of Ireland so were able to keep it secret from rellys here in the north.
I can neither see it as brave nor hard. If she's been living with a bag for 2 yrs continuing is no drama, assuming she has adjusted. I'd hope she discussed the delay with medical team to establish when the next opportunity would be.
It doesn't strike me as a big deal, just a considerate one.