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A Chicagoan forced to beg doctors for help with mysterious health issues for nearly a year before she was finally diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma at age 21 is sharing the story of her fight and why she thinks her symptoms were ignored.
Despite “living off inhalers” and going through a handful of different asthma and allergy medications to address shortness of breath and coughing that gradually became more severe over nine months, Mikey Shock said she had to advocate for herself — all but demanding an x-ray — before her doctor finally obliged.
“I just kept begging for him to figure out what was wrong with me,” she said.
The x-ray results were alarming.
Her right lung was collapsing and filling with fluid. Then, doctors discovered a tumor in her chest.
“I did chemo for 16 weeks, eight rounds of chemo. And then, radiation was 15 days straight,” said Shock.
Shock has been in remission for three years and is sharing her story now as the American Association for Cancer Research releases its 2026 Cancer Disparities Progress Report.
Shock is transgender and believes her symptoms may have been ignored because of it.
“Not being taken seriously. Being dismissed for my symptoms as hormonal as something that has to do with my transness or my gender affirming care,” said Shock.
The AACR report finds Shock is not alone, and concludes access, not only physically to care but also to doctors who are trained and understand how to care for a diverse patient population is needed.
“Access to care and also the sensitivity to understand the unique needs of patients from the LGBTQ community, and how it impacts their mental health and their journey as they get the care they need,” said Dr. Mariana Stern, the AACR report chair.
Stern says the gap for mortality and incidence of cancer between Black and white populations has been narrowed, as has the gap for mortality of Latina women suffering from cervical cancer. However, she also notes many disparities still exist, and there’s a long way to go in addressing them.
“And the cost of these disparities is very high. It’s more than $400 billion a year,” said Stern. “Our disparity populations do not only include racial and ethnic minorities, they also include people who live in rural areas. There are great disparities that are suffered by those individuals because many of these counties or these areas do not have cancer doctors, so they have to travel very long distances to get the care they need.”
Younger people, like Shock, are also a growing population of interest, Stern said.
“We are seeing a very concerning trend of increasing cancer among very young individuals. Individuals who do not qualify for screening yet, but they’re being diagnosed with cancer, unfortunately, at very late stage,” said Dr. Stern.
The report shows advances in cancer prevention, early detection and treatment have all contributed to substantial progress against the disease. Since 1991, the overall cancer death rate has declined by 35%.
And Stern says, there are proven intervention methods that work, including using individuals who are trained to help members of the community connect with cancer care called community or patient navigators.
“We also know there could be differences in the tumors at the biological level, and increasing representation of minority populations in clinical trials is also another good way to reduce the disparities because then we can test the drugs in populations that are representative of the U.S. population and identify what works best for every single patient,” said Stern.
The main takeaway, according to Stern, is that equal access to care can reduce disparities.
Shock still has residual effects from her chemo and radiation, including breathing problems, but says overall, she feels good.
Her goal in sharing her story is to give others a voice that will make a difference at the policy level.
“Trans people need culturally competent care and to be heard and to be seen, not only within the health care organizations and within health care practices, but in general. We are human beings, and we deserve to be treated with respect and care,” said Shock.
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