Tamasin Ford explores what it’s like to live with a stoma bag and how it redefines your relationship with food.

We speak to three women who have had lifesaving operations to have a stoma bag fitted. The surgery tends to involve either the small or large intestine, with a stoma creating an opening on the skin of the abdomen to bypass the normal digestion process. Instead digested content is diverted to a pouch, worn on the outside of your body.

We find out how they learned to eat again after having surgery, what they're doing to fight the stigma around stomas, and how they’re embracing their new lives with stoma bags. Joining us are Aisha Islam in Saudi Arabia, Alisa Kuivasto in Finland and Gill Castle in the United Kingdom.

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(Picture: Woman with stoma bag. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Presenter: Tamasin Ford