Essay On The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks details the experiences of social injustice and humanizes a woman whose legacy has been defined by the power of her cells. Skloot seamlessly tells the story of Henrietta and her family’s struggle to come to terms with their interactions with the health care system and their mother’s story. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman from a rural town in Virginia, was diagnosed with an aggressive case of cervical cancer and treated at Johns Hopkins. During treatment, a tissue sample was taken from her cervix without her consent. The sample was for Dr. George Gey, who was able to grow Henrietta cells in culture and discovered that her cell line was immortal. Henrietta’s condition worsened and she died at the age …show more content…
Misunderstanding regarding the details of the Tuskegee syphilis study is common, but the historical accuracy is not as relevant as the strength of the beliefs that formed as a result of the study7. Gamble (1997) argues that roots of the fear of medical exploitation dates further back in history when, the bodies of Black people in Baltimore were taken from their graves for dissection in the 1830s,three female slaves were subjected to an estimated 30 gynecological surgeries each in Alabama in the late 1840s, and folklore describing night riders who kidnapped Black people for use in medical experiments in …show more content…
Transparency in research and ethical treatment of human subject living or deceased is a necessity to maintain the integrity of research3. The continuation of research is essential to medical progress and improving health outcomes4. However, it is important for future healthcare providers and researchers to understand the historically rooted mistrust in African Americans when a patient is non-compliant or unwilling to agree to a procedure. It is imperative that time is taken to understand a patient’s perspective and answer any of the questions regarding a treatment because this encounter is an opportunity to build trust in you as a provider and rebuild trust in the health care system as a whole. In order to increase the participation of minority groups in research, awareness, education, community engagement and patience are necessary to repair historical
Henrietta Lacks Research Papers
460 Words | 2 PagesHenrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer,born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1 ,1920.Henrietta’s mother died when Henrietta was very young, her dad did not wanted to take care of her and her siblings, so they were sent with different relatives. She grew up with her grandfather. Henrietta died at age of 31 years old of cervical cancer, on October 4, 1951. At the age of twenty-nine she felt a “knot” inside of her. In the year of 1950, she had a full-fledged tumor just three months after she had felt the knot.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
965 Words | 4 PagesHenrietta then gets treated for her cancer, and is treated like any other woman with cervical cancer at the time with a form of primitive cancer treatment. In surgery, the doctor would put a tube full of radium in and around Henrietta’s cervix and vagina and let it sit there for some time, and took some samples from her vagina and tumor. While results were promising for some time, Henrietta’s tumor came back with a vengeance. The tumors blocked her urethra and “nearly replaced her kidney’s bladder, ovaries, and uterus” (90). Her pain was so great that even strong pain killers like morphine and pure alcohol injected
Summary: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
797 Words | 4 PagesPatient Privacy and Consent Hinders Medical Advancements In the medical world, many disagreements revolve around the idea of patient privacy and consent. Some say it is an unethical act to not inform a patient on research that will be done on their cells. I say without informing the patient and avoiding possible risks of not being able to conduct life-saving research, many discoveries would be made. Consent for certain things would hinder advancements, and create a gap in medical development and progress that could possibly save someone’s life.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
520 Words | 3 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks overviews the story of a young black woman who dies a painful death duo to an aggressive invasive type of cervical cancer, something doctors were currently studying and developing way to combat it. Rebecca Skloot, the author, takes us to journey to see through the eyes of the Lacks family. Many would call what was done to them unfair, but as Skloot lets us know, this was common practice (and still is in many cases) during that time. The important thing was that the ignorance of who was responsible for the cells that we call “immortal,” the cells that have given us a “Rosetta stone” for medical research, is now diminish, this was especially important to the Lacks. The book focuses mainly on the story of Henrietta’s
How The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Changed The Medical Field
929 Words | 4 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about the life of the woman whose cells changed the medical field and about the impact those cells have on her family. Henrietta was a black woman who grew up in Clover, Virginia in a family of poor, tobacco farmers. Her mother died when she was young and her father left shortly after, leaving her to be raised by her grandfather, who was also raising her cousin, Day. She later married Day and they moved to Turner Station, outside of Baltimore, Maryland because Day was able to get a decent paying job. Henrietta and Day had five children: Lawrence, Elsie, Sonny, Deborah, and Zakariyya.
Henrietta Lacks Research Papers
661 Words | 3 PagesThey fought and did not always get along, but one thing is for certain, family came first to them. Their importance of family shined through when Henrietta was first diagnosed with Cervical cancer. Although they were mostly uneducated, they asked questions and took the time to try to understand the disease Henrietta was diagnosed with. They were there for one another during the most difficult time of their lives. When a family member becomes ill, the rest of the family becomes your rock and shoulder to lean on.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
988 Words | 4 PagesAbstraction throughout history “We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measures of triumph.” The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks explores the meaning of being an abstraction or a general idea.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay
440 Words | 2 PagesRebecca Skloot develops the idea that poverty comes with many difficult situations, in the book, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks". True, Henrietta and her family were poor, could barely afford their medical bills, and they didn 't get the extended care that they deserved. You will learn how being poor can change your life and what is done with it . In the book, Henrietta 's daughter, Deborah, has many medical problems and she has to spend all her money on not even all her medicine.
Argumentative Essay On Henrietta Lacks
239 Words | 1 PagesHenrietta Lacks was a black tobacco farmer from the south who, in 1950, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer. Lacks went to John’s Hopkins medical center for treatment for her cancer. In April of 1951, she underwent surgery to remove the larger tumor on her cervix. Henrietta Lacks, died three days following the surgery. Even though Henrietta Lacks died, her cells from the tumor have lived on and have made a major impact on the biomedical community.
Rhetorical Analysis: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
989 Words | 4 PagesBushra Pirzada Professor Swann Engh-302 October 4th 2015 Rhetorical Analysis: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks who has her cervical cancer. It further goes to tell the audience how Henrietta altered medicine unknowingly. Henrietta Lacks was initially diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951; however, the doctors at John Hopkins took sample tissues from her cervix without her permission. The sample tissues taken from Henrietta’s cervix were used to conduct scientific research as well as to develop vaccines in the suture.
Henrietta Lacks Thesis
1020 Words | 5 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.
Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions
700 Words | 3 PagesParticipation Portfolio 1 Asst 3: Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions Please answers each of the following questions, and be prepared to discuss in class 1. Please outline the history of Henrietta Lacks 's tissue cells. Who did what with the cells, when, where and for what purpose? Who benefited, scientifically, medically, and monetarily?
Racism In The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
743 Words | 3 PagesHer doctor collected cancerous cells and healthy cells from her cervix and gave them to the cancer researcher, George Otto Gey, who was trying to keep cells alive for more than a couple days. Henrietta endured intense radium treatments, but she still died at the age of 31, leaving her husband and five children behind. An amazing discovery was made Henrietta’s cell were immortal. Racism is prevalent in this book through the limited availability of healthcare, unethical behaviors of the doctors, and how racism affected her family. During this time, there was an extensive lack of medical care for colored people.
Henrietta Lacks Without Her Consent Essay
663 Words | 3 PagesTaking cells was not a part of her surgical procedure. Henrietta was a human being that should have been treated with respect. But mainly, George Gey treated her with everything but that. Taking 20+ years to tell her children
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