Susan Schmidt, a 47-year-old mother of two from Australia, received life-changing news in 2023 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer.
The diagnosis came after she initially overlooked mild symptoms — a delay she hopes others can avoid by learning from her experience.
A taboo topic
“Strange” and “subtle”.
That’s how Susan Schmidt describes the symptoms she experienced before receiving her life-altering diagnosis in September 2023.
She now has to live with bowel cancer, but she wants to warn others.
“The diagnosis is incurable,” Susan told Daily Mail.
“The goal now is to stay well for as long as I can. I’ll probably resume chemotherapy after my next overseas trip.”
Susan explained that bowel health is often treated as a taboo topic, which can prevent early detection.
“I didn’t talk about my bowel habits, who does?” she said. “That’s part of the problem with bowel cancer. People don’t raise the alarm early enough.”
Early symptoms she ignored
Before her diagnosis, Susan experienced fatigue, constipation, and intense episodes of pain, but she never noticed blood in her stool.
Her first warning sign was relentless tiredness, which began about four months prior to being diagnosed. Susan chalked it off as early menopause.
“I’d drive my daughter 15 minutes to rowing, then have to stop on the way home and nap for 40 minutes,” Susan, a physiotherapist, recalled.
“That’s not normal. That was a warning sign, but I brushed it off.”
Later, during a trip to France for a friend’s wedding, Susan experienced constipation for the first time in her life.
“I just wasn’t going properly. I blamed the rich food, too much cheese, too much indulgence,” she said. “I didn’t think much of it.”
When she returned to Brisbane, the symptoms escalated dramatically.
“I ended up on the bathroom floor in absolute agony. Vomiting, diarrhoea, unbearable pain. It lasted for eight hours.”
At first, she suspected she had contracted salmonella from her horse.
“It was worse than childbirth. I was crawling into the shower, trying to relieve the pain with heat. It was a nine out of ten on the pain scale,” she told Daily Mail.
Her message to others
Initially, doctors weren’t looking for cancer and told Susan she was fine. Her blood and stool tests showed no unusual results.
But soon after, she received the devastating diagnosis of stage 4 bowel cancer.
”When I woke from the colonoscopy something seemed abnormal, as I wasn’t offered anything to eat or drink, and was told by the nurse that the gastroenterologist would be in to see me. I received the news from the gastroenterologist that he had located a tumor,” Susan shared.
Unfortunately, the news from the surgeon was not good. The CT scan and MRI revealed that rectal cancer had metastasized to her uterus, pelvic lymph nodes, and right lung.
“I want people to know the signs. I want them to push for answers if something feels off,” she said. “Even if your blood work is normal, even if they say it’s stress, diet, or hormones, listen to your instincts.”
Since her diagnosis, Susan has launched The Floozie Foundation, which aims to support cancer patients and their families in adult cancer wards across Australia.
The 47-year-old mother continues to fight for her life, and according to her latest updates on Instagram, Susan is still undergoing tough chemotherapy treatments.
Susan’s story is a powerful reminder that listening to your body and speaking up about even seemingly minor symptoms can save lives. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you, Susan, and you should know that you’re not alone in your fight!
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