Marlies M’s story

Hi! I’m Marlies, a 34-year-old woman living with Stage 4 bowel cancer.

I was first diagnosed early 2024. Prior to my diagnosis I was living the dream, having moved to Brisbane to go back and study what I am truly passionate about – Marine Biology and Zoology. My days consisted of working remotely full time in Tech and also frolicking around doing research on Animals and the Environment. Life was busy. Life was fun!

I started developing a few fairly silent symptoms in early 2023. I started to become anaemic, and I would get bloated really easily. As a woman, these are things which you tend to ignore as premenstrual symptoms, or potential allergies.

It wasn’t until I poo’d blood later in the year that I started paying a bit more attention to my symptoms and finally went to the doctor. A bowel test kit was ordered, and then weeks later I was booked in for a colonoscopy.

I was rudely awoken post colonoscopy with my doctor telling me that they had found a large mass in my bowel, and that it was likely cancer. I was booked in for surgery and post-surgery I was officially diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer.

Chemo started pretty shortly after. Chemo was harrowing for me. During chemo I went through a relationship breakdown, and was living alone in Brisbane due to my support network mostly being in Melbourne and New Zealand.

Luckily I have an incredible family and support network (although far away), and I had my mum, dad and sister come stay with me to look after me while I was going through chemo and working full-time. FUN TIMES.

End of 2024 I thought life was slowly going back to normal. I had finished my last round of chemo and my best friend from NZ and her brother came to live with me. We are the marvellous trio after all!

However 2025 came with annoying pains in the arse. … no pun intended. 😉

In February they had found a spot in my lung which had slowly grown over the last year, I was booked in for Cryoablation in August to remove the spot. However, the day of my procedure was cancelled because it had shrunk! Hallelujah!

I thought I could begin to live life again and start planning my well-earned six month trip overseas. However, December 2025 I was booked in for a routine scan and they had found two suspicious spots in my mediastinum – these were found to be cancerous.

So, in December 2025, I was begrudgingly welcomed to the Stage 4 Cancer Club. … a Club that no one ever wants to be a part of.

Since then, I have sought out multiple opinions from varying Oncologists and Radiologists. Some of the opinions I have had to come to grips with and process have included:

• the spots are inoperable and that it is chemo for life and incurable.
• it is curative with aggressive chemo for 12 months.
• ablate and wait and see.

I did oodles of research, driving myself slightly crazy in the process. At this point I have chosen the Radiation route as chemo for life did not sound particularly appealing to me.

I am also heading overseas for treatment which is currently in early research phases and not yet accessible as mainstream treatment here in Australia.

It costs an arm and a leg, but there have been success stories!

Facing your own mortality at an age where you shouldn’t is really quite … humbling. I have learnt to be more positive than I already was, live moment by moment and doing all of the things that bring me joy. … like surfing really terribly and frolicking in nature.

I am lucky to have so many wonderful friends, and family, and I have finally booked my flights to go overseas and have a bloody holiday.

Yeehoo!