Hi, my name is Lisa and this is my sister, Michelle.

In September 2025, Michelle was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer.

Within a week of her diagnosis, she underwent surgery to have a permanent stoma inserted. Since then, she has completed radiation and has now begun chemotherapy, which will continue for the next six months. After that, hopefully, she will be ready for further surgery. Highly invasive surgery.

This is the plan.

This is the best plan.

Michelle is 46 years old.

How? How could this be? Michelle isn’t old or unhealthy. She is a single parent to two daughters, aged 14 and 16. She has friends who love her. She’s funny, kind, an excellent cook, and she is everything to me. She’s everything to a lot of people. She’s that kind of person.

Michelle has a full life. A life that is nowhere near finished.

This wasn’t meant to happen. It feels like a mistake. A bad dream. Impossibly unfair. Impossible to accept, and impossible to ignore.

This is how cancer works.

It isn’t about fairness. It’s a numbers game. Australia has the highest rate of early-onset bowel cancer among 50 countries, with 16.5 cases per 100,000 people. Australians aged 45–49 can now request a free bowel screening kit through their GP.

That’s it. That’s the support. And it doesn’t help when you’re already sick.

What you can’t access is meaningful financial support if you’re diagnosed young.

If you’re unable to work during treatment - which most people aren’t - you may be eligible for JobSeeker. With a medical exemption and as a single parent, the payment is around $849.90 per fortnight at best.

That’s roughly $400 a week.

I can say with absolute certainty that I could not keep a roof over my head, pay my bills, and care for my children on that amount. Cancer is hard enough. Poverty shouldn’t be part of the treatment plan.

People say things like “stay positive,” which is somewhat challenging when you're undergoing brutal treatment, having your body cut open and parts of it removed - all while trying to process that you can no longer financially support yourself or your children. A gratitude journal isn't going to cut it.

If this sounds confronting, it’s because it is. People tip toe around cancer; it becomes the elephant in the room. I'm not here to perform politeness. I'm here to shine a light on the truth.

This is the reality for someone with a life-threatening illness in Australia in 2026. Shocking as it sounds, it’s true.

Yes, you can access your superannuation - but only if you’re declared terminal with six months or less to live. That’s the threshold.

Michelle is living this reality.

She is coping extraordinarily well. Better than I would. Better than most would. But the truth is, there is no cavalry coming. So, it’s time to put on a cape and say: we’ve got you.

Eight months’ rent is approximately $14,000. Covering this would be a complete gamechanger. It would remove the single biggest stress hanging over Michelle and her girls. If we’re fortunate enough to raise more, it would also help cover essentials: electricity, gas, food and preserve something equally important: dignity.

Michelle does not know I have started this fundraiser. It is not in her nature to ask for help. So, I’m asking for her.

I’m asking for everyone who loves Michelle. Because we all have plans. We all imagine the future. And those futures include her. That is not allowed to become impossible.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. This isn’t an easy read, but it’s an honest one.

If you’re able to contribute, no matter how small, you would be helping Michelle focus on the one thing that truly matters right now: beating cancer. Keeping a roof over her head should not be part of that fight.

And to anyone who contributes, if you ever need anything, ask me. I am relentlessly (sometimes annoyingly) determined, and if you need someone in your corner, I’m very good at that. If your problem needs solving, it becomes my problem too. That’s a lifetime guarantee.

Thank you, truly. Michelle has incredible people around her; you know who you are. Every act of kindness matters. And she would do the same for you. That’s who she is.

Hopefully, with the rent paid, Michelle can cleanse her chakras, chant positive mantras, and charge her crystals in the moonlight - and actually mean it. I might even get on board. After all, we have to believe that anything is possible.

Lisa