Chemo taught me how to delegate. Not just tasks, but THINKING. Five years ago, I
By Mboustead · October 9, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Chemo taught me how to delegate. Not just tasks, but THINKING.
Five years ago, I learned I would be going through chemo and radiation to treat early stage breast cancer, just after closing my first round of fundraising. All I wanted was to do everything I had just spent 18 months telling investors I would do at that point. But life had other plans.
My team knew what was happening and was ready to step up. I moved a lot of tasks off my plate and onto theirs. I felt good about it. I had lightened my load so I could focus on the high value stuff only the Founder and CEO can do.
Until I couldn't.
Chemo is cumulative. Every dose made me feel worse and took longer to recover from.
Delegation changed from getting to-dos off my plate to: "Po Campo has this thing on the horizon. Can you think about what we should do, and tell me your ideas the next time we talk?"
It's hard to delegate strategy! I really felt ownership over it.
But being forced to let go of it fundamentally changed how I lead. I started to trust my team more with the bigger questions, and in turn, they felt a bigger stake in our success.
Every October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I look back on how 2021 transformed me. This year, I'm grateful for what it taught me about letting go of the big stuff.
#breastcancerawarenessmonth