In a patient with locally advanced rectal cancer, T3N1, who has undergone diverting sigmoid colostomy due to symptomatic obstruction, when do you start radiation following surgery?

Typically, the blind end of the sigmoid colon can be avoided, especially with IMRT. In general, the surgeon should understand that and should not leave it in your volume. As long as that is the case, you can start as soon as the patient feels well enough for treatment positioning (upon discharge, ev...

There's a surgical question/concern here. A rectal cancer that is near-obstructing needs restoration of two drainages. Obviously, the fecal stream needs to be diverted to an ostomy. In addition, however, the large bowel proximal to the cancer but distal to the fecal diversion will continue to produc...