This was the first time the family was told about the use of Henrietta’s cells. Since a large portion of her family was uneducated, it was very difficult for her family to comprehend what was really going on. Her family was never compensated. Henrietta’s family could not even afford health insurance, yet the whole world has benefited from Henrietta’s cells. Science writer Rebecca Skloot took a significant interest in the Henrietta Lacks story and gained trust in Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s daughter, and the family to explore all aspects of Henrietta’s unknown life.…
While she was slowly dying researches were using her cells nicknamed “HeLa cells” to make several breakthroughs in medicine, including finding a vaccine for polio, cloning, and gene mapping. In Chapter 13 the widespread use of the cells were explained using this quote “The HeLa Factory…1951-1953 (set up as a massive operation to help stop polio; it would grow to produce trillions of HeLa cells each week; and it looks at the role and responsibility of African American workers at Tuskegee Institute for growing and distributing HeLa cells to fight polio). When she died the researchers also requested an autopsy to collect more of these “miracle cells”. In 1951 there were no laws governing the use of her cells without consent. To this day human tissues are still constantly collected and used for research without patient’s…
In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebbeca Skoolt, who’s a journalist, was in college when she learns information about Henrietta Lacks, and African American woman, who died in 1951, from cervical cancer. Some years later, she heard about the name again and was so curious that she decided to do research on this woman. Rebecca later learns that Henrietta’s cancerous cells were the first to become the first human cell line, called HeLa. After doing some research Rebecca later learned that in the 21 century, HeLa made some of the most important discoveries. Even so, little was known about Henrietta Lacks…
The Immortal Live of Henrietta Lacks is a book by Rebecca Skloot is about Henrietta an African American woman who develops cervical cancer as a result of her cancerous cells which will have a major impact in medicine and science. The book is base on the hundreds of interviews Skloot did to Henrietta’s friends and families. Although her cancerous cells did help scientists with the development of treatment. It also raises a hot topic if it was right for them to use them she they have as the family. Although her cancerous cells did help scientists with the development of treatment.…
Rebecca finally met the Lacks family but they did not know much about what happened to Henrietta’s cells. Dr. Gey died of inoperable pancreatic cancer. In honor of Gey, his colleagues wrote an article on the HeLa…
After the cells had been removed, Lacks and her family did not know that some cancerous and non cancerous cells were sent out to be tested. Lacks' cancerous cells were then cultured and turned into the first immortal life. On October 4, 1951, Henrietta Lacks passed away not knowing about or reaping any benefits from the super cells that had been taken from her body. Years later, Lacks' family was still unaware of the medical significance of Henrietta's cells, no profit was received was received from them (Watson). Henrietta Lacks story is just one example of tissue use without consent.…
In 1950’s Maryland, segregation was at it’s height-Jim Crow laws were in effect, schools were separate but equal, and the Klu Klux Klan had a mainstream following. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a black woman, whose cancer cells were taken from her without her permission. Though her lifespan only amounted to 31 years, the effect of her immortal cells will last an eternity. Although Henrietta was an African American woman, she received the best treatment available for her cancer at the time; however, her race affected her life greatly. Contrary to popular beliefs, Henrietta Lack’s race had little effect on her cells and the way she was treated in the hospital, in fact, she was given the best treatment that was available at the time.…
Her story, the medical breakthroughs made possible by researchers using HeLa cells, and the issues raised by their use are the subject of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot”. Not many people knew about Henrietta as a person or her story, most people knew her because of HeLa and her cells. Her kids were always having people talk to them about her cells, they never asked for her story they couldn’t trust a lot of people because of it, so when Rebecca asked her Henrietta’s story they were not very open to trusting her at…
Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story about a poor black woman whose cells were taken from her without her consent, becoming an important tool in science. Through the use of research and storytelling, Skloot tells the story of the life of the woman who unknowingly donated her cells to science, greatly advancing the medical institution, while her family struggled to pay health insurance. Skloot tells the emotional story of the Lacks family, answers questions about the HeLa cell, addresses the racial and ethical issues in medicine, all while using storytelling and credibility in order to expose the truth about Henrietta Lacks and her cells. Rebecca Skloot begins the novel by introducing the idea of the lack of…
Henrietta Lacks was a 30- year - old black mother of five when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. She went to Johns Hopkins hospital to have the tumor looked at; they took a sample and sent her home. A few weeks later, when Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr. was prepping Henrietta for treatment he took two samples from her one from the tumor and one from her healthy cervix. He never asked Henrietta if he could take these samples from her. Dr. Wharton Jr. took the samples down to Dr. Gey’s lab; he got excited but thought the cells would just die like all the rest.…
The countless facts, statistics, and explanations Skloot provides through logos make it easier for the reader to understand. For example, Skloot clearly defines that immortal cells are, “a continuously dividing line of cells all descended from one original sample…that would constantly replenish…and never die” (30). This definition is important because immortal cells are what Dr. Gey was first able to successfully create with Henrietta’s cells, which sparked a new age of medicine and the hysteria over HeLa. As Skloot continuously uses background information to defend the Lacks’ unimaginable situation, she is able to prove that it is possible to incorporate reason and logic into such a personal story. Ethos is also important because Skloot’s reliability and trustworthiness allow her to appeal to not only the readers, but to the Lacks as well.…
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Elie Wiesel is quoted saying, “We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” The story of Henrietta Lacks, or “HeLa” as she is most commonly known, is a story of how one woman changed history so much and yet she has very little recognition. The reason Henrietta Lacks is not a household name is because the mainstream media and the scientific community overall does not know the person behind the cells, they only know what her cells have done to benefit them. Elie Wiesel mentions in the first part of his quote, “We must not see any person as…
She is a science journalist that did not believe in supernatural things. But throughout her visits with the Lacks family, she soon acknowledges the importance of religion and appreciates it more than before. Gary, the most religious one in the family, hands her the Bible and instructs her to read the passages; “In that moment, reading those passages, I understood completely how some of the Lackses could believe… that Henrietta had been chosen by the Lord to become an immortal being. If you believe the Bible is the literal truth, the immortality of Henrietta's cells makes perfect sense” (Skloot 296). She realizes that the Lacks family perceives Henrietta’s death differently than the doctors at Hopkins-by spiritually.…
In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the great provision of facts and information…
Henrietta Lacks is a poor, middle school dropout, mother of five, African American woman who is forced to drive miles upon miles to get to Hopkins Hospital that provided free medical treatment (Skloot 33). During this point in history, all hospitals were segregated, and if any blacks wanted medical treatment they had to travel further for treatment. Also, African Americans were put in a bad economic spot, and most did not have the money for adequate health care. Therefore, Lacks did not have any other options other than to go to Hopkins, where they treated her poorly by taking a sample of her cervix without asking if this was acceptable (Skloot 33). Because Lacks was uneducated, the doctors did not feel the need to ask for permission because they did not believe she would understand what they were looking for or why they would do it.…