These are hard decisions, for all kinds of reasons. I’m very glad I had my surgery, but I definitely tried the then-available biologic drug first. I chose the surgery after Remicade failed. The decision is very different if dysplasia is found during colonoscopy, at which point there is consensus that surgery Is necessary and appropriate.
The colon cancer rate for folks with UC becomes very, very high after a few decades. The rate of serious complications from chronic prednisone use is similarly terrible. Deciding to move to a more definitive treatment before it’s “absolutely” necessary can make perfect sense.