what are ostomies?
Crystal, people have ostomies when they have some or all of their colon removed. They pull the end bowel outside of the body and it empties into a bag. You may have heard the terms colostomy or ileostomy.
~Somer
Please don't apologize for asking questions, that's the only way to learn.
And by definition, these boards are a place for us to TALK about our conditions, surgeries, etc., and give each other information and support... So the people who will respond have no problem discussing all of this.
There are different kinds of ostomies, in which some body part has been removed (or bypassed if it's temporary), and the end of whatever is left is pulled through a permanent opening in the body (usually lower abdomen) to the outside, with "waste" getting deposited into a receptacle, usually a type of pouch or bag.
Depending on what has been removed, that's the kind of ostomy. If only part of the colon is removed, it's called a colostomy. There are different kinds of those too, depending on which part(s) of the colon are gone.
If there is no colon left at all, it's called an ileostomy.
If there is no bladder, it's called a urostomy.
Some people have to have more than one, meaning a colo- or ileo- plus a urostomy.
I don't know the actual statistics, but from what I've heard, pretty much everyone with colostomies and ileostomies also has to have the rectum removed as well at some point. If it wasn't taken out at the same time as the original ostomy surgery, it's closed off at the top, or, as my then-11-yr-old daughter liked to say, "Your guts would fall out your ass!" 
I've read that within 10 years of it being closed off and the person having an ostomy, 90+% of people get rectal cancer if it's not removed.
I've read that within 10 years of it being closed off and the person having an ostomy, 90+% of people get rectal cancer if it's not removed.
My surgeon gives people two years after the initial surgery to have the proctectomy, or removal of the rectum.
Please keep asking questions. 