Part two of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks discusses the fate of Henrietta’s cells after she passes away. George Gey, the doctor that originally received Henrietta’s cells without her permission, asks her husband if he can perform an autopsy on Henrietta so that he can gain more knowledge on her cells. He wanted as many of her organs as possible to see if they would grow like the HeLa cells. Day refused at first because he planned on having a funeral, but Dr. Gey insisted that he perform the autopsy and promised to make her body suitable for a funeral.…
Henrietta Lacks was a beautiful, strong, independent, black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her ancestors. She was known to be a very kind, loving, and helpful young woman. Her children, husband and cousins loved her. Everyone knew Henrietta was a very cheerful person and was always willing to help others. It all changed when she started feeling sick. She described her pain as “A knot”, she said. “It hurt something awful- when that man want to get with me, Sweet Jesus aren’t them but some pains” (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 2010:24). On January 29, 1951, Henrietta was first taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital because of the knot she had. Johns Hopkins was her only choice fro a hospital since it was the only one near them that treated black patients. That day, Henrietta learned she had a malignant epidermis carcinoma of the cervix. But her cancer was different. Little did she know that her cancer cells would be saving lives of many others in the following years.…
On the cover photo Henrietta has her hands on her hips and has not yet reached the ago of 30. She is oblivious to the tumor slowly growing inside her and that she will soon leave 5 children motherless, and lead scientific breakthroughs for decades. The photographer is unknown, yet the picture itself has been in various media. Months before she died cells were cut from her cervix. There are many, many HeLa cells in labs today, an inconceivable number intact. Henrietta died in 1951 from cervical cancer. Before she died a surgeon took samples from her tumor and put them in a petri dish. Her cells reproduced a new generation every 24 hours, the first immortal cells every in a lab. Her cells helped scientists find new ways to treat cancer, herpes, influenza, and Parkinson's. Her cells have become the standard in labs. HeLa cells have been reproducing since 1951. There was little information about Henrietta prior to this book. The family was angry that cells were being sold for $25.00 a vile. They are also angry that they can barely afford health care when the people who took the cells became rich off of them.…
This is the reason why Henrietta’s cells were immortal and kept growing. A documentary on HeLa cells and Henrietta’s contribution finally gave credit to the Lacks family. The family is still upset because they can’t even afford healthcare but their mothers cells are used everywhere. As Skloot was writing the book many people tried to prevent the family from even talking to her. Eventually Skloot gains Deborah’s trust. The stress of all that has happened in Deborah’s life causes her to become sick and she eventually has a stroke. Although The HeLa cells have led to many great contributions in the studies of viruses the book leaves the reader wondering how the family of Henrietta could have been treated so poorly considering Henrietta’s huge contribution. Henrietta’s case has also had monumental effects on laws about how patients are treated, because of Henrietta patients must give their consent rather than be tested on without their knowledge. Henrietta has had a huge role in science and for this along with her cells her contributions will live on…
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Henrietta was a poor southern tobacco farmer who was emitted to the hospital and had her cells taken without her knowledge. Her cells became the most important tools in medicine. HeLa were the first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, and are still alive today. Due to research they say that if you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings. HeLa cells helped develop the polio vaccine, uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bombs effects, helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning and gene mapping, and have…
It was hard to get in touch with Deborah. She had been through a lot after Sir Lord Keenan Kester Colfield, a con artist, tried to sue Johns Hopkins and the Lacks family. He attacked mainly Deborah and Courtney Speed, who tried to build a Henrietta Lacks museum. Fortunately, Johns Hopkins’ lawyer helped them to dismiss the case. However, she was frightened of everything and trusted no one after that. While her brothers and he father were trying to get money from Johns Hopkins hospital, Deborah was more interested in learning more about her mother. Discovering stories about Henrietta and her immortal cells gave Deborah the toughest time in her…
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was about an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks. Her cancer cells were harvested and used to create an immortal cell line for scientific experimentation. Henrietta Lacks was 30 years old at the time she went into Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1951. She sought help…
Throughout my nineteen years of education, I have learned many lessons from the few books read, but none has caught my eye just from the title until now. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks brings readers back to the 1950’s by retracing to the popular cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks. This specific book, by Rebecca Skloot, brought tears to my eyes along with joy in my heart as this black woman dies of cancer while her cells live forever. The millions made off her cells kept the ignorant scientists smiling, but as for the poor family, nothing was rewarded. In Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I quickly fixed to the descriptive print when Henrietta’s eternal cancer cells took away self-determination and brought different aspects about immortality but also a sense of comfort.…
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot produces many different themes. Many of which continue to play a big role in today’s society. Throughout the novel, the author reveals the story of a woman who shook the scientific world with just her cells. Even today, her cells’ influence is still felt in medical research. However useful these cells are, obtaining them was very controversial. After reading the book, the main themes that stuck out in my mind are racism and ethics in medicine.…
This article is about Sandra Bland who on the 10th of July was pulled aside in Texas. Sandra Bland was threatened with a taser, forced out of her car, had her right to record removed, was hurt by the officer, and slammed into the ground. She told the officers that they were hurting her but they did not care, they did not listen. She also told them had no right to force her to stop recording or to get out of her car. Sandra Bland was arrested and after three days was found dead in her cell. It was supposedly a suicide…
Since the dawn of life, every organism, unless created through asexual reproduction methods, has had a mother and a father figure, even if they are not around for a significant period of time. Despite the fact that some organisms such as the Cryptodira Chelonioidea, or sea turtle, are abandoned before birth and still turn out the way that most do, most creatures do benefit from having a mother and father, whether they be related to them genetically or emotionally, Deborah Lacks is not an exception to this. While Deborah Lacks was still a little girl, she lost her genetic mother, Henrietta Lacks, to cervical cancer, and due to this, she did not have the certain type of guidance that mothers can bestow upon their children. However, by losing her genetic mother, she had a spot for an emotional mother to come in, whom she eventually found in the year 2000 in the form of a student, a writer, and a soon to be close friend, Rebecca Skloot. Throughout the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot utilizes various literary elements to help emphasize the formation of a mother-daughter relationship between Deborah and herself.…
Amelia Earhart is a very known person in the world of woman’s reconization and aviators, but how much do we really know about her? Well, to start with she was born on July 24th, in 1897 in Atchison Kansas. Her father, whose name was Edwin Earhart, was a very wealthy man from being a retired U.S district court judge. But he did have an alcoholic problem and during those times Amelia’s mother would send her and her sister, Muriel, to live with their grandparents for most of the year, except for the summer when Amelia would go and visit her parents. At her grandparents’ house, they had a blast living an “unproper life for young girls” seeking adventures, exploring the neighborhood, climbing trees, hunting for rats, and enjoying breathtaking rides on Amelia's sled.…
In the days leading up to her death, Martha was in pain and lost her eyesight by the age of 89 (“Martha Gellhorn Biography, n.d.”). Martha could barely write stories and basically gave up. In 1998 at 89 Martha Gellhorn took her life by overdosing on drugs.…
In 1845, Ireland was hit by a potato blight. In the next four years over a million Irish people died and another million emigrated in what became known as the Great Famine. In Ireland, Victoria was labelled "The Famine Queen". She personally donated £2,000 to famine relief, more than any other individual…
From the romantics, to queen Victoria; it was a time of great social struggles for the poor. Yet a different story was occurring for the middle class, the higher classes where in a time of “relative political and social stability” (Gray 783). These conditions helped shape and greatly impacted the novel writing of the era. In the midsts of the reign of Queen Victoria, the poor went through a time of great struggles, however reforms were occurring, and an industrial revolution took place. Social changes and undertakings played a great role in the writing and themes of the novels of the era. After a time of transition from romantics to the Victorian era a “novel [was] a realistic portrayal of society” (Victorian Age 1). Society’s growing emphasis on humanitarianism along side of the social conditions contributed to the novels and the realization of poverty during the Victorian era.…