That, and an increased use of birth control pills. They have to be vigilant. That's even true for people with an ostomy. If they have an ostomy that connects to a remaining piece of the large colon instead of to the small intestine, they need to think about recurrence in the remaining colonic tissue. Many survivors deal with pain forever, because the surgeries and chemotherapies used can cause lasting pain.
Surgery can cause adhesions or nerve damage.
It's not unusual to hear colorectal cancer survivors complain about diarrhea and pain for many years after surgery. Unfortunately, people sometimes don't understand how you can have pain for years after surgery. There's a lot of talk about the role of diet and exercise as measures of prevention, even though studies don't consistently support this. There can be a measure of guilt, too, that colon and rectal cancer patients deal with. It's a very tough, very unfair thing to have to face.