A female visits the doctor with breast tenderness, a mysterious lump, and nipple discharge. After taking a biopsy, the doctor confirms the patients worst fear, she has breast cancer. Although it is not commonly recognized, medicine ties in to the humanities through the ideas of suffering and discomfort along with community and society. Doctors work with ill people every day to help them recover and heal; healthcare professionals help their patients find their way back into society. The humanities focus on the human experience and condition. Without the study of the humanities and history, humankind would not understand the events that transpired and made the world a better place to live. The word humanities has the word human in it, and medicine
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Her cancer was aggressive and she did not receive the best care. Although her cells were used originally for her cancer diagnosis, they were then used for medical research. The cells enabled researchers and physicians to develop antibiotics and cures to diseases. Cures and defenses were developed for influenza, herpes, leukemia, Parkinson’s Disease and many other prospects of human suffering (Skloot 4). HeLa cells paved the way for medical research in which the human condition could be improved. Other people’s suffering and discomfort leads to the advancement of medicine as well as an understanding of the human condition. The increased knowledge gained allows for the possibility to help and cure …show more content…
Although she was seen at one of the best hospitals in the country, Johns Hopkins, patients were still treated differently based on the color of their skin. Henrietta was treated in the colored ward where she did not receive the best care possible compared to her white counterparts. Due to the fact that Henrietta was a colored woman and that the doctors knew she was going to die, they were not concerned with keeping her cells without consent. They believed they had the right to keep the HeLa cells and use them since they were being used for research. Henrietta’s cells did lead to numerous medical advances, but the doctors did not have the right to continuously use her cells without family consent; the culture of the time contributed to actions of the
Her cancer was aggressive and she did not receive the best care. Although her cells were used originally for her cancer diagnosis, they were then used for medical research. The cells enabled researchers and physicians to develop antibiotics and cures to diseases. Cures and defenses were developed for influenza, herpes, leukemia, Parkinson’s Disease and many other prospects of human suffering (Skloot 4). HeLa cells paved the way for medical research in which the human condition could be improved. Other people’s suffering and discomfort leads to the advancement of medicine as well as an understanding of the human condition. The increased knowledge gained allows for the possibility to help and cure …show more content…
Although she was seen at one of the best hospitals in the country, Johns Hopkins, patients were still treated differently based on the color of their skin. Henrietta was treated in the colored ward where she did not receive the best care possible compared to her white counterparts. Due to the fact that Henrietta was a colored woman and that the doctors knew she was going to die, they were not concerned with keeping her cells without consent. They believed they had the right to keep the HeLa cells and use them since they were being used for research. Henrietta’s cells did lead to numerous medical advances, but the doctors did not have the right to continuously use her cells without family consent; the culture of the time contributed to actions of the