The Personal Essay
“I’ve spent years staring at [Henrietta’s] photo, wondering what kind of life she led, what happened to her children, and what she’d think about cells from her cervix living on forever – bought, sold, packaged, and shipped by the trillions to laboratories around the world” (Skloot 1).
From the very beginning we have Rebecca Skloot so intimately introducing us to the story of her book. She is bringing up to the reader the main reason and focus of her work, which is discovering; the untold story from life to death of Henrietta Lacks, the woman behind the world famous HeLa cells. Meanwhile the author is introducing us to the main character of this impressive and multilayered story; she is letting the reader get the feeling of the central issue treated in this book on how Henrietta’s cells were used without her or her family’s consent. The story is now becoming an ethical question of whatever was right or wrong from researchers to take her cells. Although using the cells of Henrietta Lacks without her consent was immoral, the benefit from using her cells to save thousands of lives outweighs the initial deceit.
The “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” narrates the story of Henrietta, a young Afro-American woman, mother of Lawrence, Elsie, Sonny, Deborah, Joseph and Day Lack’s wife. She died from a severe form of cervical cancer at age of thirty one. While receiving treatment at a local hospital, Doctor Howard Jones took tissues from her tumor, without her consent to it. Eventually this cells were passed to the laboratory of doctor George Otto Gey, so they could be used in medical research. The cells, later named after Henrietta Lacks initials as “HeLa Cells”, happened to be the ones the science craved so much for, because they were immortal which made them one of the most revolutionary discovery for medicine. In a relatively short time HeLa cells were cloned all around the world becoming one the most wanted tolls at any researcher lab. They were used to study all kind of diseases and testing possible vaccines and medications. One of the most important discovery using HeLa cells was made by Jonas Salk when he developed the polio vaccine. The book covers the story of Henrietta’s life up until her tragic death and the way her cells have changed the science.
The Essay on Short Stories Life Neo Marriage
Harry 1 Alterations: Comparing the Changes Caused by Marriage of the two Bessie Head Short Stories, "Life" and "Snapshots of a Wedding " Marriage is the union of two people, traditionally husband and wife. Traditional also are the roles that women play when confined in a marriage. When a woman has had the opportunity to educate herself pass tradition and has been use to a fast-paced modern ...
Much of the book tells about Henrietta’s children and how they were affected once they found out after twenty years passed by that their mother cells had been used in medical research without her permission to it. At this point it is important to mention that before 1970’s the researchers did not use to get a written consent to use patients biopsy tissues, especially if the patients were receiving free treatment in public hospitals. Skloot states that: “Many scientist believed that since patients were treated for free in the public wards, it was fair to use them as research subjects as a form of payment.” ( 30).
The book also discusses race issues that have touched Lacks family’s life and brings up the fact that even though their mother cells build up a billion dollar industry, her family and kids had no health insurance while living in poverty.
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When years passed by and Henrietta’s family started to question what exactly happened to their mother and those cells, they were ignored and remained uninformed dealing with lots of question but no answers. The Lacks’s family had to deal with injustice due to the fact that they were black and lived in poverty. The most who was affected from the news that her mother’s cells were still alive was Deborah, Henrietta’s younger daughter. She was angered from the injustice they all were going through, but in the same time she was so proud that her mother’s cells had done so much and saved millions of lives.
The Essay on Lung Cancer Body Cells One
Lung disease (in general) is the number three killer in America, responsible for one in seven deaths. Lung disease and other breathing problems is the number one killer of babies younger than one year old. "Lung cancer claims more lives each year than breast, prostate and colorectal cancer combined, but somehow the statistics fail to capture the enormous toll taken by this disease," says Diane ...
The gloominess of this story reminds me another tragic death of a much beloved family doctor, gynecologist and more a friend than just a doctor. It happened back in my country, Moldova, the woman name was Larisa. She passed away at the age of fifty-two from metastatic breast cancer, hiding the fact of her illness up till the close end. Doctor Larisa faced cancer with amazing grace and donated her body to science. By deciding on doing so she had to confront her family’s disapproval, but kept firm on her decision saying that she will keep on helping the science even after death. Doctor Larisa had an amazing personality, hard worker and deeply dedicated to her work and patients. She saved hundreds if not thousands of lives through cancer prevention and early detection of life threating illnesses. Doctor Larisa helped so many people, but yet faced the biggest paradox of her life, herself got sick and after died from cancer. A tragic story of a great woman, good mother and excellent doctor which left behind inconsolable kids and patients. We all felt the great loss of a doctor and friend. My mother, sister and I count as ones out of many.
Cancer it is a devastating disease which cruelly takes countless number of lives from all over the world and having people suffering the most agonizing pains. Henrietta and Larisa, both were mothers who died from cancer and even after their death benefited the humanity.
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Doctor Larisa gave this generous gift to humanity as the matter of her choice, by the other hand Henrietta’s cells were taken without her knowledge. Even though it was wrong that the doctors took her tissues without asking for permission; I believe that they did it for the good of humanity trying desperately to obtain those special cells which will survive out of human body. Doctor George Otto Gey with his brilliant mind knew that this will be a revolutionary breakthrough for the medical science. Ironically, Doctor George died from the disease he has been attempting to find a cure for, he died from cancer. He had to go through an emergency procedure for the pancreatic cancer. Prior to his operation, Doctor George requested that the doctors cut out a piece of his cancer tissue, same as doctors did with Henrietta’s tumor years before. He left précised indications for developing GeGe from the cells taken out of his pancreas cancer. During the operation the doctors found him inoperable because his cancer spread all over the vital organs reaching even the heart. Regardless of his wish, the surgeon did not cut through his cancer because that could provoke his immediate death. Soon after he offered himself as a patient to experiment on, he was undergoing treatments with experimental drugs not yet approved to use on humans. So if Doctor George wanted to use his own tissues in order to benefit the science then doesn’t this serve as a prof that he did not see as an immoral act. I stand up for Doctor George, Doctor Larisa and Henrietta Lacks; the least they deserve is our recognition and thankfulness for what they have done for us, their stories should serve as an example of generosity and goodwill. It does not matter who we are, nor it matters our ethnicity or social status, we are people and we all are weak in front with disease like cancer.
The Essay on What Is Cancer Normal Cells
What is Cancer The article entitled "What Is Cancer?" from the American Cancer Society's web site discussed how cancer forms and effects people in different ways depending on what type of cancer they have. It also mentioned how cancers are treated and ways to prevent cancer. Cancer forms from the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. When we are born we all have normal cells that ...
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At this point in my life I do strongly believe that we all have to unite our efforts and help in any possible way the research that is needed to focus every day progress against this terrible disease.
Going back to Henrietta’s story I strongly believe that she will feel same way, and wouldn’t hesitate to donate her cells for the good of humanity. According the book, back in 1950’s it was not considered wrong to take someone tissues, however the wrong part was not to acknowledge the significance of Henrietta’s person, the woman behind some of the biggest advances in medical field. Although sixty years had to pass, Henrietta Lack’s name finally got it merited recognition through the Skloot’s wonderful book. Beside the book, Rebecca Skloot founded the Henrietta Lacks Foundation with the main purpose to raise money for scholarships for Henrietta’s descendants, as well as to help cover the cost of health insurance for Lack’s family. As ironic as it sounds, but again only after sixty-years to honor Henrietta Lacks name, a beautiful headstone has been placed at her grave in Clover.
I would like to thank Rebecca Skloot for writing this magnificent book. Reading this heartbreaking story made me realize that there are situations when ethics and science do not necessary come together; Henrietta Lacks’s story is a vivid example of it. For the doctors to take Henrietta’s cells without her consent was an obvious violation to the ethics of informed consent. Yet, the benefit from using HeLa cells outweighs the doctors’ initial deceit. The book emphasized the importance of using human tissues and cells for the major advancements in medicine. We are all potential life savers by the simple fact of giving the consent for the medical researchers to use our tissues or blood. If given the opportunity to benefit the science and ourselves, why would we not consent to donate our cells or tissue for research purpose?
The Essay on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
In the 1950s doctors didn’t have to ask for consent and the patients just did what their doctors told them to do no questions asked. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot tells a true story about a 31 year old African American woman that had her cells taken by doctors without her consent and didn’t get recognized for the contribution her cells made until later on when ...
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Work sided page
Skloot, Rebecca: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010. Print
