Janice has had a number of CT scans over the years to explore whether surgery might be a possibility. She first saw a surgeon referred to her by her oncologist, who concluded surgery would be very difficult after seeing the CT scan. As expected too much small bowel is affected. If this were to be removed, there was more than a possibility that an iliostomy would have been necessary. She was and is not prepared to have that procedure.

If it could have been done without an iliostomy, she would experience different problems, such as needing to void many times a day, effectively keeping her a prisoner at home. There would be even more difficulty maintaining nutrition and body weight.

Consensus medical opinion over the years following various scans, and indeed during hospitalisation for bouts of obstruction, is that surgery would not be a safe option for Janice due to the existing damage.

The long-term scenario did not give cause for optimism, but at least she was relatively well between attacks, although the frequency of attacks continued to increase.