Looking into your kidneys could save your life, ask Octavia Spencer. The Academy Award-winning actress is using her star power to shed light on the silent signals your organs can send you that your body is in trouble. She has partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, along with key organizations including the American Diabetes Association, National Kidney Foundation, Mended Hearts, and WomenHeart, to promote “Detect The SOS,” a health initiative urging the public to access uACR urine testing. This screening can identify several health problems before they progress into more serious territory.
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Why This Initiative is Important to Spencer
“Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects one-quarter to one-third of adults with diabetes in the USA. Patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes have an elevated risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and can eventually progress to end-stage kidney disease,” according to a 2025 article in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care. Studies show that risk is higher for the Black community, which has a higher rate of diabetes and high blood pressure as well.
This makes the initiative personal to Spencer. “I’m a part of this health mission because I suffer from type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure that I control,” she says. “And because type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure and heart disease are quite prevalent in the Black community, as a Black woman, I felt compelled to become a part of this collective, to educate people.”
Why We Should Consider uACR Testing
This testing can help you identify serious health issues long before they begin to slow down your lifestyle. Spencer will appear alongside Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, whose mother has high blood pressure, in their upcoming commercial that will play during Sunday’s big game (aka The Super Bowl). With a play on action movies, its engaging tone will encourage viewers to get serious about their health by accessing the information uACR can offer.
She described the ways that your kidneys can send out invisible distress signals. “If you suffer from diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Your body could be sending out a silent SOS through your kidneys, and there is an easy way to detect that,” Spencer continued. “It’s important for all of us to know our numbers.”
The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology recommends the critical need to increase uACR screening rates in at-risk patients.
The Busyness of Life Can Distract Us from Our Health
Whether you’re focused on status reports at work, sports games or family activities, it can be easy to sideline doctor’s visits when there are no visible issues.
Spencer admitted to putting her health on the back burner, something many people do until they are unable to ignore it. “I’m a regular woman, and like regular people, a lot of the times, we don’t go to the doctor until we feel ill,” she says. “Being a part of this mission has made me realize that I don’t want to wait until I feel sick, because then sometimes it can be too late to turn things around. So now, I’m being more proactive.”
How Her Work and Greater Mission Align
Spencer offers her support to marginalized communities at her day job as well. She is preparing for the February 25 return of Lost Women of Alaska, the fourth installment of the Lost Women franchise, highlighting true crime stories. The series highlights who can be at a higher risk of facing harm at the hands of another.
She shared why the premise of the show connects to her heart, as someone who could have easily been in a different place in life. Spencer was headed for law school before choosing the creative path after the loss of her mother. She might have been banging a gavel instead of walking red carpets.
“Women, the elderly, children are our most vulnerable, and this season of Lost Women takes place in Alaska, where Indigenous women are preyed upon,” she says. Black women, like indigenous women, are at a higher risk of being murdered.
“It’s important for me because my trajectory in life changed,” she says. “So this is a way for me to satiate the need for justice.” The series aims to highlight “people whose voices have been stolen” and “to raise awareness for women who might find themselves in compromising positions to always be aware of their surroundings and who they associate with.”
Spencer is Prioritizing Her Health & A Balanced Life
When she is not reminding people to learn about their bodies and be mindful of predators, she’s connecting with her loved ones. “I have learned that spending time with family and friends is just as important as getting up and exercising and eating healthy. These days, we are all on our devices and not necessarily interacting with our loved ones,” she continues. “They say, laughter is the best medicine. I don’t know that it’s the best medicine, but I know that it is good medicine.”
That doesn’t mean she’s not focused on the medicine of movement. After twenty years of living with diabetes, she knows the importance of keeping up with her pilates. “I’m 55, and I want to enter that phase of my life stronger,” she says. “The best way to do that, I think, is to be as preventative as possible.”
Part of that prevention is knowing her numbers and continuing to focus on what she wants from the next phase of her life.
“People say age gracefully; I just want to be strong.”
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