Campaigning for colostomy awareness in Kirkwall

A local colostomy awareness campaigner will be on-hand in Sutherland’s Pharmacy, in Kirkwall, today, offering information as part of this year’s National Colostomy Day.

Lloyd Wainwright will be manning a stall at the pharmacy today from 10am to 4pm, with information about the Colostomy Association’s “Fight the Poo Taboo” campaign.

National Colostomy Day is a national awareness day which aims to the highlight the issues and challenges faced by 1 in 500 people in the UK living with a stoma.

A stoma is an opening made on the side of the abdomen through which bodily waste can pass. Anyone who has undergone stoma surgery has to wear a “stoma bag” to collect the waste.

Lloyd, who has had a colostomy bag since being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2004, will be providing information on what it is like to live with a stoma and dispelling some myths.