{"id":27932,"date":"2025-09-23T12:33:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T12:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=27932"},"modified":"2025-09-23T12:33:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T12:33:35","slug":"stage-4-cancer-patient-warns-overlooked-minor-signs-can-mask-a-fatal-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=27932","title":{"rendered":"Stage 4 cancer patient warns overlooked minor signs can mask a fatal disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"77\" data-end=\"320\">What began as simple exhaustion turned out to be something far more serious for Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old mother of two from Brisbane. In September 2023, she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer \u2014 a devastating and incurable condition.<\/p><div class=\"jovgf69fee55f6f0fd\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.jovgf69fee55f6f0fd {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.jovgf69fee55f6f0fd {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.jovgf69fee55f6f0fd {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.jovgf69fee55f6f0fd {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.jovgf69fee55f6f0fd {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p data-start=\"322\" data-end=\"540\">Susan admits she overlooked early symptoms, believing they were harmless. \u201cThe goal now is to stay well for as long as I can. I\u2019ll probably resume chemotherapy after my next overseas trip,\u201d she told\u00a0<em data-start=\"521\" data-end=\"537\">The Daily Mail<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-9\">\n<div id=\"tinyhouse-zone.com_responsive_2\" data-google-query-id=\"CNu23IXy7o8DFXmp_Qcdfq05pA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23201474937\/tinyhouse-zone.com\/tinyhouse-zone.com_responsive_2_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"542\" data-end=\"798\">She wants others to learn from her experience, stressing the importance of paying attention to bowel health. \u201cPeople don\u2019t talk about their bowel habits \u2014 who does? That\u2019s part of the problem with bowel cancer. People don\u2019t raise the alarm early enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"800\" data-end=\"1026\">Her first symptom was unrelenting fatigue just months before her diagnosis. \u201cI\u2019d drive my daughter to rowing and then have to stop on the way home for a nap. That\u2019s not normal. That was a warning sign, but I brushed it off.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-10\">\n<div id=\"tinyhouse-zone.com_responsive_3\" data-google-query-id=\"CIqZ3YXy7o8DFQjSuwgdzTMi5w\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/23201474937\/tinyhouse-zone.com\/tinyhouse-zone.com_responsive_3_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"1028\" data-end=\"1249\">During a trip to France, Susan experienced constipation for the first time, blaming rich foods and travel. Later, back in Brisbane, she endured excruciating abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea that lasted for hours.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1251\" data-end=\"1420\">\u201cThe pain was worse than childbirth. I thought I had salmonella from my horse. At the hospital, they told me I was fine \u2014 no one was looking for cancer,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1422\" data-end=\"1660\">It wasn\u2019t until further tests that doctors confirmed stage 4 bowel cancer. Now Susan is determined to raise awareness. \u201cEven if your blood work is normal, even if they say it\u2019s stress or diet, trust your instincts and push for answers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1812\">She has since launched The Floozie Foundation to support cancer patients and their families, while continuing to share her story to help save lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What began as simple exhaustion turned out to be something far more serious for Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old mother of two from Brisbane. In September 2023, she was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer \u2014 a devastating and incurable condition. Susan admits she overlooked early symptoms, believing they were harmless. \u201cThe goal now is to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,17,11,20,24,15,12,25,22,18,16,21,14,23,13],"class_list":["post-27932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-diseases","tag-fitness","tag-health-tips","tag-healthcare-technology","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-medical-advice","tag-medical-awareness","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health","tag-nutrition","tag-patient-care","tag-preventive-care","tag-public-health","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Stage 4 cancer patient warns overlooked minor signs can mask a fatal disease - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=27932\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stage 4 cancer patient warns overlooked minor signs can mask a fatal disease - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What began as simple exhaustion turned out to be something far more serious for Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old mother of two from Brisbane. 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