On August 2, 2024, my world stopped with words I’ll never forget: “I’m so sorry… it’s cancer.” In that instant, the noise of life—the meetings, the deadlines, the endless lists, fell silent. Everything I thought was urgent became irrelevant. What I had pushed off, what I thought I was too busy to deal with, had caught up with me. And it changed everything.
There’s never a perfect time to get checked. I told myself that too, until the day everything stopped. A cancer diagnosis has a way of dropping you to your knees and forcing you to face what you’ve been outrunning. The hardest part wasn’t the surgeries or the tests, it was looking my family in the eyes and saying the words out loud. Watching their faces crumble broke me in a way I can’t explain. I’ve always been the strong one, the fixer, the one holding everyone else up… and suddenly I had to let them hold me. That was humbling, and honestly, necessary.
Advocating for yourself isn’t selfish; it’s survival. I had to fight for my tests, push for answers, and speak up when something didn’t feel right. I had to accept help, which was its own kind of bravery. No one else will champion your body the way you can, and no one else will live with the consequences if you don’t. We are so quick to show up for our families, our businesses, our teams, but we must show up for ourselves too. Because if you don’t, all the things you’re working so hard to build can vanish in an instant.
So, here’s my plea to you: stop waiting for a better time. Schedule the appointment. Get the screening. Ask the hard questions. What brings you to your knees will make you think twice, but don’t let it take everything before you act. Your future, your family, and your life are worth stepping out of the grind for. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
-Summer Middleton
CEO & President
LeTip International, Inc.
