Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Analysis

Medical care is a growing issue as time as progressed. How doctors care for their patients, and how patients react to the care received is sometime a great concern. Nowadays it is harder to perceive any type of care for patients with mental health issues, comparing to a few decades ago, where good medical care for any minority was hard to come by. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot follows the life of Henrietta Lacks and her lack of medical care that caused her death, and how the medical world used her cells for success. On the other hand, It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini highlights Craig Gilner’s time in a psychiatric ward after he checks himself in. Although Skloot and Vizzinis books both highlight the medical …show more content…
There are many different aspects care ranging from the care of the emotional to the physical being. In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Lacks, an African American woman, suffers from cervical cancer which ultimately kills her. The doctors at her hospital failed to treat Henrietta to the best of their ability. The hospital where Lacks’ was treated was known for treating African Americans who were poor and could not afford enough money for care. However because Henrietta’s case was hard to treat, the doctors continually experimented on her without her knowledge. Unfortunately Lacks’ died, but the cells that the doctor’s had experimented on were found to be immortal. The cells were then used to help solve many problems in the scientific world. Henrietta’s cancer was a relevant and serious issue and was poorly treated by doctors despite the benefits it presented. In contrast in It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Craig Gilner is a teen suffering from an eating disorder, and has many stressors going on in his life. He attends a technical school, and finds it difficult to balance his school life, social life, and his disorder. He suffers a detrimental mental breakdown, and thinks through a suicide attempt, but instead checks himself in a hospital. When Craig checks in, the treatment he receives …show more content…
Although both stories are in different time periods, they illustrate the problems that arise in each area and any changes that occur throughout time. Based on the relevance of the problem each main character possesses, their care was given sufficiently and to the best of the doctors ability even if their knowledge was little and required experimentation to aid in the supervision. The treatment also changed which depended on the time period. For example, care for cancer is a lot different now than it was when Henrietta Lacks was in the hospital. Likewise, mental health has made big steps with the addition of medication. Medical care is important because it contributes to many years added on to a life expectancy. It also improves simple human function and the quality of life. No matter the problems that arise in medical care, there are many innovations and inventions that have helped advance medical care and make it as good as it can be, and many more to come as time goes