Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old mother of two from Australia, was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in September 2023 after ignoring early symptoms. “The diagnosis is incurable,” she told The 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 admitted she didn’t think much about bowel health, saying, “I didn’t talk about my bowel habits, who does? That’s part of the problem with bowel cancer. People don’t raise the alarm early enough.”

Her first sign was extreme fatigue: “I’d drive my daughter 15 minutes to rowing, then have to stop on the way home and nap for 40 minutes. That’s not normal.” Later, while in France, she experienced constipation for the first time but blamed it on “too much cheese, too much indulgence.”

Back in Brisbane, she endured unbearable pain: “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.” At first, doctors dismissed her condition, but soon after, she was told it was stage 4 cancer.

Now, Susan is raising awareness and has launched The Floozie Foundation to support cancer patients and families across Australia.