At present, long-term outcomes after rectal cancer surgery are poorly understood. Bowel, bladder and sexual function appear to be negatively affected by multi-modality therapy. However, function has been poorly studied, and it is difficult to translate the data into clinically meaningful information for patients. Clinically, bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction seem to affect quality of life (QOL), although this has never been well studied. It is important to quantify the extent of impairment so that it can be used to educate patients preoperatively. However, translating these data to clinicians and patients remains challenging, and efforts to convey the data in a meaningful manner preoperatively constitute an important element in managing patient expectations. By understanding patients' baseline needs, expectations and satisfaction at the time of the preoperative consent, we can begin to develop novel preoperative strategies for educating patients about postoperative function and quality of life in a meaningful manner, so that they may better adapt after surgery. We ultimately plan to use data from this study to develop and subsequently evaluate the role of an educational tool outlining functional outcomes after rectal cancer surgery.