Dietary and behavioral adjustments to control bowel function by long-term colorectal cancer survivors.

573 Background: Bowel dysfunction is a known complication of colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment, and has a detrimental impact on survivors’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The prevalence of dietary and behavioral modifications in CRC survivors has been described in only a small number of studies. To better understand dietary and behavioral adjustments that long-term (≥ 5 years) CRC survivors make to regulate their bowel function, we performed a mixed methods analysis, comparing survivors with a permanent ostomy and those with anastomosis. Methods: CRC survivors with or without permanent ostomies were surveyed with the modified version of the City of Hope Quality of Life for Ostomy tool (N=919).Dietary adjustments were compared by ostomy status (ostomy versus anastomosis) and higher quartile versus lower quartile HRQOL scores.Student’s t-tests were used to compare HRQOL measures between groups. Qualitative data from 13 focus groups (N=63) and interviews with 30 female ostomates were analyzed to expl...