The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

Alex Brown
Dr. Sobatka
POP 1 Section 3
20 September 2013
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks When I first started reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, I thought it was going to be like reading any other assigned book. As I read more and more, I recognized how wrong my initial thoughts were. Henrietta Lacks has affected every person one way or another through her cells, and I doubt they even realize it. I know if had not read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I would still be unaware of the importance HeLa cells and their place in not only the scientific world, but in everyday life as well. Although many aspects of this book caught my attention, the most poignant part, in my opinion, is Henrietta’s family being kept in the dark. Her family was never informed of the use of their mother’s cells by the doctors at Johns Hopkins or by Dr. Gey, the doctor in charge of conducting the research. They did not discover the cells existence until over two decades later when Susan Hsu, a postdoctoral student working for Victor McKusick, showed up at the family’s doorstep claiming she needed to do tests to make sure that no one was infected with Henrietta’s disease. Susan took the samples she needed without informing the family of the intended purpose of the samples she was collecting. After being informed of Henrietta’s cells, the family was confused as to what was going on, and did not know what that meant for them or Henrietta. Bobbette adds, "What really would upset Henrietta is the fact that Dr. Gey never told the family anything -- we didn't know nothing about those cells and he didn't care. That just rubbed us the wrong way. I just keep asking everybody, 'Why didn't they say anything to the family?' They knew how to contact us. If Dr. Gey wasn't dead, I think I would have killed him myself"(Skloot 169) This entire segment of the book made me very upset and angry, but what frustrated me the most about this entire state of affairs was that no one took the time to truly explain to the family what was happening in terms they could understand. The doctors all used large, fancy, medical terminology to describe the circumstances, not taking into account that the family members were not highly educated and could not comprehend the information they were receiving. Even though there are many pertinent moments in this book, this part of the book affected me the most because I can relate to the family in the sense of having information withheld from me. When my grandpa was in the hospital, I had no idea the true extent of his illness. My family continually reassured me he was going to be fine and that his heart attack had only been a minor one. I’m not sure if my parents were the ones who decided not to tell me exactly what happened or if the doctors did not tell them every detail about my grandpa. After he passed away I was so confused and hurt. I still to this day am unsure of precisely what had occurred at the hospital. He seemed to be improving and doing much better the last time I saw him. No one in my family saw it coming, so when it happened it really hit us hard. Not knowing what was happening was frustrating and heartbreaking all at the same time. The desire to know was there, but no one would take the time to explain the details to me. In addition, this aspect of the book will continue to affect my future career as a pharmacist, particularly because I can understand what the Lacks family went through with the lack of information. As well, Rebecca says, “Patillo finally decided to give me Deborah's phone number. But first, he said, there were a few things I needed to know. He lowered his voice and rattled off a list of dos and dont's for dealing with Deborah Lacks: Don't be aggressive. Do be honest. Don't be clinical, don't try to force her into anything, don't talk down to her, she hates that. Do be compassionate, don't forget that she's been through a lot with these cells, do have patience. "You'll need that more than anything," he told me” (Skloot 51). This quote really stuck out when I read it because of how all the dos and don’ts Patillo mentions will apply to my future career when dealing with patients, and are important qualities to be mindful of when interacting with patients. I will carry the knowledge and the feelings I experienced from reading this book with me throughout the rest of my life. I especially plan to make sure to thoroughly explain the side effects a patient’s prescriptions can have. As well, I plan to answer any questions they may have pertaining to their medication or condition to the best of my ability as honestly as I can, and in terms the patient will be able to comprehend. I know what it feels like to be left in the dark and I am going to do everything in my power to prevent anyone else from feeling the same way I did and the way the members of the Lacks family felt. Besides being able to relate to the Lacks family about being left in the dark, I learned two major things from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The first thing I learned about was HeLa cells. Before reading this book, I had no idea what a HeLa cell was or how many different things they effect. My eyes were opened to the fact that HeLa cells are in everything and have been everywhere, including many places across the globe in addition to nuclear bombs and space missions to see what would happen to human cells in zero gravity. These cells are the reason for many of the advances in medical science that are still very prevalent in today’s society. These cells were important in the development of the polio vaccine, as well as many scientific breakthroughs such as cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro fertilization. The cells helped develop drugs for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson’s disease, and so much more. The list seems to be endless. It’s crazy to think that if HeLa cells were never discovered it’s possible that none of these developments would exist. Two years ago, my youth group leader, Nicole, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has five children and is a close family friend, so hearing the news of her diagnoses was very difficult for her family as well as mine. After undergoing chemotherapy and surgery to remove the tumor, she has made, what seems to be, a full recovery. I don’t like to think of what could have happened if there was no way to treat cancer. It is impossible to picture life without her in it and, and thanks to Henrietta and her cells, I don’t have to and neither do her five children. A second thing I learned about through this book is Henrietta and her family. If I would have only been informed about the cells, I probably would not have even given a second thought to where they came from. Through the approach Rebecca Skloot used to transcribe this story, I realized there is more to the story than just the cells. I was awakened to the fact these cells came from an actual human being who has a family just like I do. Learning about Henrietta and each of her family members made the book so much more personal and relatable. In addition, it opened my eyes to how different the medical world was around the 1950’s as opposed to how it is now. It was hard to believe some of the cruelty and abuse this family had to endure because of their race and social status. Discovering the truth about what happened to Elsie in the Hospital for the Negro Insane scared me, especially that part where Rebecca says, “I later learned that while Elsie was at Crownsville, scientists often conducted research on patients there without consent, including one study titled "Pneumoencephalographic and skull X-ray studies in 100 epileptics."…Pneumoencephalography involved drilling holes into the skulls of research subjects, draining the fluid surrounding their brains, and pumping air or helium into the skull in place of the fluid to allow crisp X-rays of the brain through the skull” (Skloot 275). I still cannot even begin to fathom what these patients endured without being disgusted at the people who conducted the test and being on the verge of tears for the patients who had to stay there and undergo those tests. It is something that you expect to witness in scary movies, not hear about in real life. Through the Lacks family and their story, Rebecca Skloot’s writing triggered the contemplation of many different questions about aspects of society, ethics, and human rights, as well as sending the reader on an emotional journey. Many of the feelings resulted from the racism and the exclusion based on wealth prevalent throughout the book. Lawrence points out, “She's the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother is so important to science, why can't we get health insurance?” (Skloot 168). This whole issue angers me because without their mother’s cells, we would not have any of the advances in medical technology in use today. Another aspect that rubbed me the wrong way was the fact they took the cells without permission and failed to inform the family of the issue. What really bothers me is, “The American medical Association had issued rules protecting laboratory animals in 1910, no such rules existed for humans until Nuremberg” (Skloot 131). I cannot believe there were rules protecting animals, but none defending human rights and crimes against mankind. I also cannot believe Johns Hopkins, for how renowned it is now, used to treat patients as they did, and even used to kidnap people off the streets to perform tests on them. One quote that really touched my heart and caused me to rethink my anger and sadness for the family was when Rebecca wrote, “As we left Crownsville, Deborah thanked Lurz for the information, saying, "I've been waiting for this a long, long time, Doc." When he asked if she was okay, her eyes welled with tears and she said, ‘Like I'm always telling my brothers, if you gonna go into history, you can't do it with a hate attitude. You got to remember, times was different’” (Skloot 276). This quote melted my heart and made me realize how strong the members of Henrietta’s family are. It gives me the hope that we, as a human race, can continue to move forward and grow. As I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, I realized many things about not only the world around me, but about myself as well. Henrietta Lacks has affected every person one way or another through her cells, and her family members have endured much suffering and pain through the process of discovering these immortal cells. I learned so many lessons about life and forgiveness through the Lacks family. I also gained knowledge that will help me to become the best pharmacist I can be and allow me to connect with my patients and customers rather than talk down to them or treat them as anything less than my equals.