“Will I need an ostomy?” This question can loom large for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). And it’s no wonder. Ostomy surgery is a major step for anyone dealing with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. For Kaylaa’ White, a 23-year-old Crohn’s & Colitis Found...

In honor of Ostomy Awareness Day on October 7, we are delving into a topic relevant to many people in the IBD community. It's estimated that between 725,000 and 1 million people in the U.S. live with an ostomy and many of them are Crohn’s or colitis patients.   Ostomy surgery is ...

Nearly four decades have passed since former NFL kicker Rolf Benirschke underwent ostomy surgery for ulcerative colitis after all other treatments failed to control his disease. Since that time, many new therapies have been developed to better treat patients and the prognosis for patients with infla...

In October 2021, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation sent me an email to ask about a generous – yet puzzling – gift. The Foundation had recently received more than $500,000 from the estate of Ted Scholnick. The gift was unexpected, the Foundation had no known connection to Ted Scholnick, and it cam...

I was 15 years old, just wrapping up gymnastics season and my freshman year of high school, when I got news that flooded my future with uncertainty—after years of battling health issues, I would now need an ostomy bag. I felt scared, sad, and alone.  I...

Approximately 1 in 500 Americans live with an ostomy, and many of those are patients who have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an ostomy may be needed temporarily or permanently for a variety of reasons, including sudden, severe ulcerative col...

Approximately 1 in 500 Americans live with an ostomy, a surgically created opening in the body for the discharge of body waste. Whether it’s because of cancer, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, or incontinence, an ostomy can give people w...