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When Georgia Smith started feeling overly tired, she put it down to jet lag related to her job as an international flight attendant.

She was flying around the world to destinations including Hawaii, Singapore and Hong Kong for a national airline – plus was a busy mum of two.

And while the 49-year old from Sydney's Northern Beaches had a cough and noticed she seemed more out of breath than usual while doing her high intensity fitness classes, she shrugged those symptoms off too.

READ MORE: 'It's stark': Woman diagnosed with breast and lung cancer in the same year describes the contrast between how she was treated

It was only when she mentioned them to her GP at a routine appointment, that she discovered that she actually was drastically ill.

The x-ray the GP sent her for, showed she had lung cancer.

"It was a complete shock," she told nine.com.au.

"It was the last thing on my mind.

"I was tired and I was skinny but I put that down to running around after the kids, shift work, going to the gym doing high energy classes and the jet lag."

READ MORE: Non-smoker diagnosed with lung cancer at 22 backs hard-hitting anti-stigma campaign

READ MORE: Plea for more specialised nurses for Australia's biggest cancer killer

Mrs Smith was sent on to specialists who confirmed the details with more tests.

She was told she had a tumour in her left lung.

She admits she struggled with the news – and telling her children, Bonnie, 12, and Tully, 14 , was "devastating."

"I spiralled down," she said.

"For six months I was trying to pick myself up."

However, Mrs Smith soon began multiple treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and immunotherapy.

While her cancer is now classed as stage 4, it has not spread beyond her lungs.

And thanks to daily medication, known as targeted therapy, her prognosis is now brighter.

Targeted therapy is type of drug treatment that attacks specific features of cancer cells, known as molecular targets, to stop the cancer growing and spreading, according to the Cancer Council. But it doesn't work for everybody.

"I'm living with it, and I want to be a survivor," Mrs Smith said.

"I've gone from curable to terminal to treatable.

"My prognosis now is good."

Mrs Smith is part of a new campaign urging people to seek help if they have any lung cancer symptoms, such as a cough.

'What if your cough isn't just a cough?' has been launched by Lung Foundation Australia.

Its research shows one in three Aussies would not act on a new, persistent cough lasting more than three weeks- a key symptom of lung cancer.

Early diagnosis is key to treating Australia's biggest cancer killer.

Lung Foundation Australia boss, Mark Brooke, said early lung cancer symptoms can be easy to miss, but early diagnosis is critical.

READ MORE: Call for ban on flavoured vapes popular with young Australians

https://twitter.com/Lungfoundation/status/1435426910427746304

"A cough is only one of a number of potential symptoms of lung cancer. Others include breathlessness, fatigue, pain in the chest, coughing up blood, and weight loss," he said.

"If you notice any new, persistent or changed symptoms speak to your GP.

"This is particularly important if you have any risk factors such as history of smoking, occupation exposure to asbestos, dust or chemicals, or if you are aged over 40."

Mrs Smith urged people not to ignore such symptoms, and to push for tests like x-rays.

"I just want to save one person," she said.

"If you don't ask, you don't get.

"The earlier this is diagnosed, the better the outcomes will be."

She also has a message for people who think lung cancer only affects smokers or former smokers.

One in three women and one in 10 men diagnosed have never smoked, according to the Lung Foundation Australia

"Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer," she said.

Mrs Smith is now hoping international travel put on hold by the coronavirus pandemic will resume soon so she can return to the job she loves.

"I miss it so much," she said.

Lung Cancer Facts

Lung cancer kills more Australians than any other type of cancer.

Less than 20 per cent of patients are alive five years after diagnosis, but being diagnosed early can make a huge difference.

Lung cancer received less than a quarter of the funding cash given to breast and colon cancer research between 2011 and 2016, according to Cancer Australia.

One in three women and one in 10 men diagnosed have never smoked, according to the Lung Foundation Australia, but the disease still carries a stigma.

Lung cancer or lung disease symptoms

• Persistent or unexplained cough which lasts more than three weeks, or changes to an existing cough

• Breathlessness

• Coughing up blood

• Fatigue

• Weight loss

• Chest pain

• Voice hoarseness

Contact journalist Sarah Swain: Ss****@******om.au

North Korea claimed it successfully test-fired new long-range cruise missiles over the weekend, according to the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The report, dated Monday, said the country's Academy of Defence Science successfully test-fired the missiles on September 11 and 12, and that the weapons had been in development for two years.

The weapons demonstrate "another effective deterrence means for more reliably guaranteeing the security of our state and strongly containing the military manoeuvres of the hostile forces against the DPRK," the agency said.

READ MORE: FBI releases first 9/11 document after Biden order

The US and neighbouring South Korea are looking into the launch claims, officials in both countries told CNN.

"Cruise missiles are often detected after the tests are conducted for their low flight altitudes," a South Korean Defence Ministry official also said.

"North Korea had conducted two cruise missile tests already this year, but we did not disclose them as we do not disclose all cruise missile tests we detect."

The North Korean launch announcement came just as South Korea's top nuclear envoy headed to Japan to discuss North Korea with US and Japanese officials on Monday and Tuesday.

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Multiple UN Security Council resolutions have expressed concern about North Korea's ballistic missile program. However, such resolutions have not focused on the development or testing of cruise missiles.

Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles are propelled by jet engines. Much like an airplane, they stay closer to the ground, making them harder to detect.

According to KCNA, the new missiles travelled for 7,580 seconds along oval and figure-eight flight orbits in the air above the territorial land and waters of North Korea and hit targets 1,500 kilometres away.

"This is a system that can reach targets throughout Japan," said Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who specialises in open-source intelligence.

"Whereas the system we saw in March was a shorter range system just to target South Korea."

Mr Lewis was referencing a series of North Korean missile tests earlier this year where Pyongyang test-fired a missile that flew 450 kilometres.

"It's a technical achievement for them," Mr Lewis told CNN, but added that the test was "totally expected."

"It was very clear they were going to test something, and this was clearly on the list," he said.

North Korea's earlier test launches this year were widely seen as attempts to send a message to the Biden administration about the isolated country's importance in the region.

North Korea has shown off new and untested weaponry in its military parades over the last few months. The US anticipated that some of this would eventually be tested in a show of strength by North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un.

The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, had warned last month that the country would respond to joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, which would "face a more serious security threat" for ignoring repeated warnings against the drills.

Late last month, the US also approved the sale of USD$350 million of precision guided munitions and related equipment to South Korea.

Parts of Sydney have been pelted with hail after temperatures plummeted following a sweltering weekend.

Curl Curl, Collaroy and other suburbs on the city's Northern Beaches experienced a brief hail storm this afternoon.

The seas are also rough today with the Manly Ferry bobbing up and down in the swell as ominous dark clouds linger in the background.

LIVE UPDATES: NSW records 1257 new cases as restrictions ease slightly

It comes as temperatures in parts of New South Wales dropped by around ten degrees after the state experienced its hottest weekend since January.

Stepping outside feels much different today, with a cool change sweeping through last night cooling temperatures down dramatically.

Sydney is forecast to reach a top of 19 degrees today with a few showers developing, while the city's western suburbs are likely to reach just 20.

It's a sharp drop from yesterday when the city reached just over 31 and nearly 32 degrees in the west, the warmest weekend in nine months.

The rest of the week will bring showers and partly cloudy and cooler conditions.

Across the rest of the country, a cold front is bringing gusty showers and alpine snow to Tasmania, eastern Victoria and southeast NSW.

Warmth is filtering into Queensland ahead of a trough. Moist onshore winds are causing showers over the northeast tropics and the Top End.

An upper trough is producing rain over Western Australia's southern interior.

READ MORE: Sydney hotspot mayor says eastern beaches show 'double standard'

The Australian Capital Territory will be even cooler, with temperatures due to hit just 13 degrees today before warming to 19 later in the week.

In Queensland, Brisbane will feel more like spring reaching 31 degrees today before dropping slightly to 24 degrees by Friday.

But the warmer weather is also bringing an increased fire danger.

The current warning level is at "very high" but is expected to ease in the south-east tomorrow.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1437185269095092225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The warm air mass will cause temperatures to reach the high-20s to mid-30s across most of Queensland, resulting in very high fire danger warnings in the Central Highlands and Coalfields, Maranoa and Warrego and Darling Downs, and Granite Belt Forecast Districts.

In Victoria, temperatures will reach a brisk 14 degrees in Melbourne, before becoming cloudy for a top of 15 tomorrow.

In Adelaide, a partly cloudy day is on the way with a top of 17 degrees.

Thursday will see a warm 26 degrees before conditions drop to just 16 on Saturday.

READ MORE: FBI releases declassified documents on 9/11 terror attack

In Perth, it'll be a sunny 21 degrees with showers developing on Wednesday and bringing cooler conditions of just 17 degrees on Thursday.

Darwin will see a shower or two today and 31 degrees before storms hit tomorrow.

And in Hobart, the day will warm to just 11 degrees today after morning showers with a partly cloudy and cool week on the way.

A holiday soaking up the sun in the Pacific Islands may seem like a distant dream, but it could become a possibility for vaccinated Australians before the end of the year.

The Fiji Government announced at the end of last month its plan to reopen its borders to international tourists in November.

The government expects to reach its target of having at least 80 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated by then.

READ MORE: Man collapses at Queensland border after being denied entry

The island nation has been recording less than 200 daily cases on average for the past week and has been rapidly rolling out its vaccination program.

According to Fijian Government statistics, 97.1 per cent of the country's target population have received at least one dose and 58.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has said the airline plans to resume flights to "COVID-safe destinations" such as Singapore, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Fiji, New Zealand and Canada from the middle of December when 80 per cent of Australia's eligible population is expected to be vaccinated.

In line with the plan, the airline has already started advertising flights to Fiji for December.

READ MORE: Victoria records another big hike in COVID-19 cases

Tourism is Fiji's biggest industry and accounts for 100,000 jobs.

Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill told the ABC the success of Fiji's vaccination scheme had given the country the confidence to take steps towards opening up for vaccinated travellers.

"I think we're being as prudent and careful as we possibly can be," Mr Hill said.

"The key thing is, if you've got a really strong level of local vaccination, coupled with only accepting fully vaccinated travellers who test negative before they get on the plane, then you're dramatically reducing the risk," Mr Hill said.

"Everybody's really keen to get things back up and running and started again, and Fiji is ready and waiting for tourists."

READ MORE: By state and territory, how quickly Australia is vaccinating

A mega-pod of over 100 humpback whales surrounded a boat off the New South Wales South Coast to feed on a large bait ball.

The crew from Sapphire Coastal Adventures had a front-row seat to the ocean spectacle.

Simon Miller from Sapphire Coastal Adventures said "it was quite exciting".

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"There's just a huge amount of noise, huge amount of smell. It all happens really, really quickly too," Mr Miller said.

The whales moved together with the phenomenon called a mass aggregation or mega-pod.

It has been happening for roughly three days off Bermagui, about 37 kilometres from the New South Wales South Coast.

READ MORE: Sydney hotspot mayor says eastern beaches show 'double standard'

"The whales are working collaboratively to sort of heard the fish together and then some will go underneath, and some off to the sides, and they come back and they turn on their sides," Mr Miller said.

"They lunge forward opening their mouths, and they capture the fish, and then they use their tongue to push over to swallow."

Scientists believe that an increase in the humpback population and declining food sources in Antarctica is causing the once rare occurrence to become more frequent.