The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Megan Espy
Andrew Schussler
GEP 101.013
2 May 2012 Reflection Paper: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Indeed Henrietta Lacks’ life is immortal. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman of the 1950’s. She suffered from cervical cancer and eventually passed away at age 31. Because of her gender and race, she was treated unfairly and unable to receive proper treatment for cancer. A doctor by the name of Howard Jones was responsible for Henrietta’s diagnosis. As he examined the tumor in her cervix, he discovered it’s unusual size and color. Henrietta was then scheduled for treatment. The surgeon on duty was responsible for her treatment. His name was Lawrence Wharton. Because of Richard TeLinde’s theory, for research purposes, Wharton helped himself to a few samples of her cervix without the consent of Henrietta Lacks or her family. He then sent the tissues to a specialist by the name of George Gey. George Gey and his wife Margaret had been studying and growing cell cultures for years. With that being said, Gey and his wife grew Henrietta’s samples in a test tube in a lab at Johns Hopkins hospital. He eventually realized that these cells were not normal. They were immortal. And even now, fives decades after her death, HeLa cells are still being used for scientific research.
A curious biology student known as Rebecca Skloot wrote The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. When Skloot was 16, she was taking a biology course at a community college for high school credit because the alternative school she went to didn’t offer it. Sitting in this biology lecture at 16, she was learning words like mitosis and kinase inhibitors (Skloot 2). At this particular time in her studies, she was learning about cells, including cell functions and cell parts. Her instructor explained to her that cells were amazing things. And to help the students understand how scientists have researched cells in previous years, he wrote a name on the board. The name read, “HENRIETTA LACKS”
Andrew Schussler
GEP 101.013
2 May 2012 Reflection Paper: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Indeed Henrietta Lacks’ life is immortal. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman of the 1950’s. She suffered from cervical cancer and eventually passed away at age 31. Because of her gender and race, she was treated unfairly and unable to receive proper treatment for cancer. A doctor by the name of Howard Jones was responsible for Henrietta’s diagnosis. As he examined the tumor in her cervix, he discovered it’s unusual size and color. Henrietta was then scheduled for treatment. The surgeon on duty was responsible for her treatment. His name was Lawrence Wharton. Because of Richard TeLinde’s theory, for research purposes, Wharton helped himself to a few samples of her cervix without the consent of Henrietta Lacks or her family. He then sent the tissues to a specialist by the name of George Gey. George Gey and his wife Margaret had been studying and growing cell cultures for years. With that being said, Gey and his wife grew Henrietta’s samples in a test tube in a lab at Johns Hopkins hospital. He eventually realized that these cells were not normal. They were immortal. And even now, fives decades after her death, HeLa cells are still being used for scientific research.
A curious biology student known as Rebecca Skloot wrote The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. When Skloot was 16, she was taking a biology course at a community college for high school credit because the alternative school she went to didn’t offer it. Sitting in this biology lecture at 16, she was learning words like mitosis and kinase inhibitors (Skloot 2). At this particular time in her studies, she was learning about cells, including cell functions and cell parts. Her instructor explained to her that cells were amazing things. And to help the students understand how scientists have researched cells in previous years, he wrote a name on the board. The name read, “HENRIETTA LACKS”