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Woman, 47, Diagnosed With Stage 4 Cancer Issues Urgent Warning About Subtle Symptom She Dismissed
For Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old mother and practicing physiotherapist, the initial exhaustion felt like a familiar symptom of a busy life. It was the kind of bone-deep tiredness she, like many women, had learned to push through—a consequence of juggling a career and family. She dismissed it as burnout or perhaps the onset of menopause. It was, she thought, just life catching up.
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Yet, this persistent fatigue was the first subtle signal of a disturbing trend. Colorectal cancer, long considered a disease of older men, is seeing a sharp increase in younger adults. According to the American Cancer Society, diagnoses in individuals under 50 have nearly doubled since the 1990s. The symptoms are often not the dramatic, textbook signs one might expect.
For Susan, there was no sudden weight loss or blood in her stool. There was only the unrelenting tiredness, a bout of constipation she attributed to travel, and two nights of pain she would later describe as “worse than childbirth.” Months later, she received the diagnosis that had been quietly advancing: Stage 4 bowel cancer. Her story is a powerful illustration of a public health concern and a vital call to action for paying attention when your body signals that something is wrong.
The Symptom That Didn’t Seem Serious
As a physiotherapist and mother of two, Susan Schmidt was no stranger to fatigue. But by May 2023, the exhaustion had become profound. It was a weariness so consuming that it began to disrupt her life in alarming ways. “I’d drop my daughter off at rowing and have to stop halfway home to sleep for 40 minutes,” she recalled. “That’s not normal. That was a warning sign. But I brushed it off.”
Like many women in their mid-40s, Susan’s first assumption was hormonal changes or burnout. With no other glaring symptoms—no weight loss, no blood in her stool—early menopause seemed like a logical explanation for her flagging energy. This tendency to normalize extreme tiredness is a common, and dangerous, pitfall.
Medical experts warn that this type of debilitating fatigue is a significant red flag. “Fatigue that interferes with daily function, especially if it’s sudden or unexplained, should never be dismissed,” explains Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Yeo notes that while it is often attributed to stress or hormonal shifts in women, it “can be one of the earliest signs of several underlying health issues, including cancer.”
For Susan, the symptom that was easiest to explain away was her body’s first and most persistent signal that a serious illness was taking hold. It marked the beginning of her diagnosis and, ultimately, her mission to teach others not to ignore the warnings their bodies are sending.
When ‘Normal’ Symptoms Mask Something Serious
The fatigue was soon joined by another symptom. During a trip to France in June 2023, Susan experienced constipation for the first time in her life. She attributed it to the rich food and change in routine. But the issue persisted after she returned home, culminating one night in an episode of excruciating abdominal pain. The pain, which she described as “worse than childbirth,” left her on the bathroom floor for hours.
Despite the severity of the attack, initial medical tests offered no answers. Her blood work and stool samples came back normal. With no obvious red flags, a stomach bug or stress were suggested as possible culprits. This is a critical and dangerous juncture in many cancer journeys: when a patient’s experience is invalidated by standard tests. As a physiotherapist, Susan had a high degree of health literacy, yet even she was mystified. “It never occurred to me to consider bowel cancer,” she said.
Susan’s experience highlights a well-documented challenge in medicine. Research has consistently shown that women’s symptoms, particularly for gastrointestinal issues, are more likely to be attributed to non-serious causes like stress or hormonal changes. This can lead to significant diagnostic delays. The absence of “classic” cancer symptoms further complicates the picture.
“You don’t need to have blood in your stool or rapid weight loss for it to be cancer,” warns Dr. Zuri Murrell, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center. “Constipation, bloating, fatigue—these may seem minor, but if they persist or feel unusual, they warrant investigation.” It took a second episode of searing pain before Susan was finally scheduled for the colonoscopy that would reveal the truth.
The Reality of a Stage 4 Diagnosis
The news came in September 2023. Waking from a colonoscopy, Susan Schmidt was met not with reassurance, but with the silence of serious concern. Doctors hadn’t been able to complete the procedure; a tumor in her rectum was too large for the scope to pass. Scans soon confirmed the diagnosis: stage 4 bowel cancer that had metastasized to her uterus, pelvic lymph nodes, and lungs.
A stage 4 diagnosis means the cancer has spread to distant organs. The focus of treatment shifts from a cure to control, with a five-year relative survival rate of approximately 15%, according to the American Cancer Society. For Susan, this meant immediate, intensive chemotherapy—12 grueling rounds over six months.
In March 2024, she underwent a massive surgery, including a bowel resection and a full hysterectomy, to remove all visible tumors. The initial report of clear margins offered a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly extinguished. Follow-up scans revealed dozens of new, small tumors in her lungs.
This setback was followed by a series of devastating challenges: a second chemotherapy drug failed, and a subsequent trial of immunotherapy was halted when it triggered autoimmune hepatitis, a severe liver reaction.
The physical toll of the disease and its treatment has been immense. Peripheral neuropathy, a common side effect of chemotherapy, affects the nerves in her hands and feet, making her work as a physiotherapist difficult. Yet through the constant uncertainty, she holds onto hope for the future. “I believe the answer to cancer is out there,” she says. “I just have to stay well long enough to get there.”
The diagnosis also forced a painful conversation with her two children, then 13 and 11. Susan and her husband shared the difficult truth of her prognosis. “They know the life expectancy,” she said, adding with pride, “and they’re handling it beautifully.” Her experience is a stark portrait of life with advanced cancer—a daily navigation of treatment, side effects, and the emotional weight of a life irrevocably changed.
The Silent Rise of Early-Onset Bowel Cancer
Like many, Susan Schmidt believed bowel cancer was a disease that affected older adults. Her surprise at the diagnosis reflects a common, but increasingly outdated, perception. For decades, colorectal cancer was predominantly associated with individuals over 50. That demographic is now shifting at an alarming rate.
This rise in early-onset cases is not just anecdotal; it’s a documented public health trend. Data from the National Cancer Institute reveals that the proportion of colorectal cancer diagnoses in people under 55 nearly doubled from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019. In response to this surge, the American Cancer Society lowered its recommended screening age for average-risk adults from 50 to 45.
Researchers are investigating the reasons for this increase, with suspicion falling on a combination of environmental and lifestyle factors, including modern diets, sedentary habits, and genetics. However, as Dr. Heather Yeo of Weill Cornell Medicine notes, the cause is likely complex. “It is likely a combination of factors… as well as access to care and some environmental factors,” she stated.
What makes these early-onset cases so dangerous is the high potential for delayed diagnosis. The symptoms Susan experienced—fatigue, constipation, abdominal pain—are frequently dismissed in younger patients as consequences of stress, diet, or hormonal cycles. This delay allows the disease to progress to advanced stages, when it is far more difficult to treat. As Dr. Yeo emphasizes, this is why screening is so critical. “Colon cancer is considered a silent and deadly killer… people often don’t know they have it until it’s progressed.”
Breaking the Silence Around Bowel Health
Looking back, Susan Schmidt identifies a crucial factor that contributed to her delayed diagnosis: silence. “I didn’t talk about my bowel habits,” she admitted. “Who does?” This cultural reluctance to discuss digestive health, she now realizes, can be a deadly barrier to early detection.
Embarrassment and stigma often prevent people, especially women, from reporting symptoms like persistent bloating, constipation, or changes in bowel movements. When these issues are mentioned, they are frequently normalized or misattributed to less serious causes. Even with her background as a physiotherapist, Susan didn’t connect her symptoms to cancer until she was in crisis.
Determined to change this, Susan became a vocal advocate, founding The Floozie Foundation to support patients and promote open conversation about bowel cancer. Her core message is one of empowerment and persistence. “Don’t settle for reassurance,” she urges. “Push for answers. Even if your blood tests are normal, even if your doctor says it’s stress or menopause—trust your instincts.”
Her journey also underscores the profound power of community. During her treatment, Susan’s friends and family rallied around her, forming a support group they lovingly called “Sooz’s Floozies.” They offered emotional and practical support, famously cheering her on the route to the hospital for her final chemotherapy session. This network, Susan says, was as crucial as any medical treatment. “Supporting me has helped them too. That’s why community matters.”
Don’t Wait. Speak Up
Susan Schmidt’s story is not just a cautionary tale it’s a wake-up call. Her journey It all started with a tiredness so deep it felt like it was in her bones. For Susan Schmidt, a 45-year-old physiotherapist and mom, it was easy to write off the exhaustion and a random bout of constipation as just… life. We’ve all done it. You blame stress, your diet, your age—anything but the unthinkable. She didn’t have any of the dramatic, textbook symptoms, so even when she sought help, her initial tests came back clean. But underneath those quiet, everyday complaints was a terrifying reality: Stage 4 bowel cancer, and it had already been spreading for a long time.
The scary part is, Susan’s story isn’t some rare, one-off tragedy. It’s a real-life example of a trend that doctors are seeing more and more. Bowel cancer is showing up in younger people, especially those under 50, at a shocking rate. And because no one expects it in younger, otherwise healthy people, the subtle signs are often ignored until the cancer has progressed. It’s a dangerous blind spot in our healthcare system, and it means people are getting diagnosed late, when the fight is so much harder.
So, what are we supposed to take away from all this? If there’s one lesson to be learned from Susan’s journey, it’s that you have to be your own biggest advocate. It’s about learning to trust that little voice that says something isn’t right here, even if the world is telling you not to worry. It means getting past the awkwardness of talking about our bodies and having the courage to push for answers. In the end, doctors have the medical charts and the test results, but you are the only one who truly knows your own body. Listening to it might just save your life.
Featured Image Source: Susan Schmidt on Instagram