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.”
