The SPECC In The Dark Of Night

The person who said, “there is no such thing as luck had not received word of a cancer diagnosis”. In 2010, My father explained this as he slowly wandered toward the bathroom in the middle of the night, fully aware that I was wide awake, watching, and ready to catch him should he stumble. The strength he displayed during these, his most vulnerable moments, was heroic and all the differences that kept us emotionally distant for years, meant nothing, because during those moments of that limited time, we only focused on our agreements, commonalities, and my genetic inheritance. Most of the time, we laughed during the day, and welcomed each night to conceal our tears. And, of course, the audible sniffles that ushered the silent tears were never discussed. Just a father and son, in the dark of night.

I used to ponder why he choose not to be treated for his diagnosis of treatable colon cancer. But now, I understand better the multidimensional considerations that originate from places of education, background, exposure, and beliefs. I have learned to let go of my curiosities, accept, and respect his right to choose.

Inspired by the loss of my parents and a dear friend to preventable illnesses, I invite you to engage with me by sharing or just by observing as I dig deeper into those social determinants of health (SDoH) that preserve the persistent health outcome disparities which plague our communities.

As a tenured health professional and population health doctoral student, I recognize that concepts like SDoH, can seem foreign and complicated, so to make it familiar and simple, I employ a model I call: SPECC which stands for - The Seven (7) P-Elements of Cancer Care. The SPECCs are:

1. you the Person

2. your Provider

3. the Payer (example: Insurance through your job, Medicare, or you etc.)

4. the Pharmaceutical company(ies) that make the drug(s) that are used in your treatment

5. healthcare Policy makers

6. Place – the geographic and care center type where you are treated

7. Public

I will discuss the role and interplay of each of these elements of care provisions.

Hopefully, you and I can talk about each of these in turn and not only learn from one another but also, potentially, discover paths to solutions to our health problems as a culture.

Until next time… LIVE with VIGOR!

Mark HaliFebruary 20, 20221 Comment