A fit and healthy Melbourne mum who went to the gym five days a week has revealed the subtle symptoms she dismissed before being diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at just 46.
Michelle Flynn, from Yarraville in Melbourne’s inner west, initially brushed off the early warning signs as fatigue from travelling in the tropical heat during a holiday in Vietnam.
But within months, the single mother-of-two was sitting in a hospital room being told by doctors she had a large tumour – a moment she said completely blindsided her.
‘I woke up and they took me into a room and told me they could see the cancer,’ the now 47-year-old told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It was a very big shock… cancer just wasn’t something I was thinking about.’
Before her diagnosis, Michelle described her life as busy, social and full. A self-described ‘social butterfly’, she balanced her work supporting vulnerable housing clients with raising her two teenage daughters, staying active at the gym and travelling overseas whenever she could.
‘I was enjoying my life. I’d been on quite a few trips and things were pretty good,’ she said, adding that she always considered herself healthy and had no family history of bowel cancer.
While travelling in Vietnam in April 2025, Michelle noticed she didn’t have the same energy she usually did and struggled to keep up while sightseeing.
Melbourne mum Michelle Flynn, pictured, who has always considered herself ‘fit and healthy’ has revealed the subtle symptoms she dismissed before being diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer at just 46
While travelling in Vietnam in April 2025, Michelle noticed she didn’t have the same energy she usually did and struggled to keep up while sightseeing. (Pictured with her daughters, now 14 and 16)
At the time she blamed the intense heat and humidity, assuming her body was simply reacting to the climate.
‘When I was hungry I’d start eating but I couldn’t finish full meals either, so I really just thought it was the heat.’
After returning home, however, the symptoms didn’t disappear. Her appetite remained unpredictable and her bowel habits began to change, something she initially assumed might be linked to diet or a food intolerance.
‘My bowel movements became irregular and I started getting really bloated and uncomfortable,’ she said.
‘At one point I even thought maybe I had Crohn’s disease and tried the FODMAP diet, but it didn’t make any difference.’
Michelle visited doctors several times over the following months and underwent blood tests which revealed low iron levels – something she now knows can be an early warning sign of bowel cancer – but otherwise nothing appeared immediately alarming.
‘I had blood tests and my iron was low so I had an iron infusion, but apart from that everything seemed okay.’
It wasn’t until the pain and discomfort worsened, and she found it increasingly difficult to eat without severe bloating, that she decided to book a colonoscopy to investigate further.
After returning home, however, the symptoms didn’t disappear. Her appetite remained unpredictable and her bowel habits began to change, something she initially assumed might be linked to diet or a food intolerance
Months later a colonoscopy confirmed she had stage three bowel cancer that had spread to nearby lymph nodes. She was fitted with a colostomy bag immediately and told her bowel would have to be fully removed
After undergoing the procedure, Michelle woke to doctors delivering the devastating news: they could clearly see the cancer growing inside her.
Further scans confirmed she had stage three bowel cancer that had spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Within days she was undergoing surgery to have a stoma inserted after the tumour made eating almost impossible and caused rapid weight loss.
‘I was starving, but any time I ate I’d be in pain and really bloated,’ she said, explaining she had been surviving largely on nutritional drinks and yoghurt in the weeks leading up to surgery.
Doctors initially believed the stoma – a colostomy bag – might be temporary, but further imaging later revealed the tumour’s location meant her bowel would ultimately need to be completely removed.
‘They said unfortunately my whole bowel needs to be removed, so the stoma will be for life.’
Once she had regained some weight and strength, Michelle began an intensive treatment plan, starting radiation therapy in early October that same year before moving on to chemotherapy delivered through a port implanted in her chest. (Pictured with her sister Lisa, left)
Adjusting to the change has been confronting and something she is still getting used to.
‘When I first got home from hospital I had all the supplies and just remember looking at them thinking I didn’t know what to do,’ she said.
‘I actually had to go on YouTube to learn how to change the colostomy bags.’
Once she had regained some weight and strength, Michelle began an intensive treatment plan, starting radiation therapy in early October that same year before moving on to chemotherapy delivered through a port implanted in her chest.
‘I go into hospital for about three hours and then they send me home with a bottle connected to the port that runs for 48 hours,’ she said.
The treatment has been physically exhausting, but Michelle has continued trying to maintain some sense of normal life for her daughters, aged 14 and 16.
Alongside the physical challenges of treatment, Michelle has also faced financial pressure after taking time off work during her recovery. Now nearing the end of her chemo rounds, she is waiting for scans that will determine if surgery to remove the tumour is now possible
Her biggest hope, she said, is simply to reach the point where she can say she is cancer-free and return to the normal life she once took for granted
Alongside the physical challenges of treatment, Michelle has also faced financial pressure after taking time off work during her recovery.
She is currently receiving JobSeeker payments with a medical exemption, which she said barely covers the basics.
‘It’s about $800 a fortnight and that doesn’t go far when you have rent, bills and food.’
Her sister Lisa and other close friends and family, however, have been her rock from the beginning to help in every way possible.
Now nearing the end of her chemotherapy rounds, Michelle is waiting for scans that will determine the next stage of treatment and whether surgery to remove the tumour can proceed.
Her biggest hope, she said, is simply to reach the point where she can say she is cancer-free and return to the normal life she once took for granted.
‘This whole process feels like a full-time job,’ she said.
‘So, I’m really just looking forward to getting some normality back and being able to plan for the future again – and go on holiday!’
