Henrietta Lacks Influence On Ethnic Identity

Elie Wiesel has stated “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 measure of triumph” (as cited in Skloot, 2010, p. 1). This paper will examine the many ways in which Henrietta Lacks, a relatively poor African woman whose cells were extracted from her without any consent, was viewed primarily as an abstraction rather than a person by the scientific community and the media; and the consequences that ensued as a result.

The first social determinant that impacted Henrietta Lacks’ health was income. The higher income an individual has, the more likely that they will be able to afford better healthcare, healthier foods, cleaner houses, and so on. These things directly influence are health. Individuals with lower incomes settle

Growing up in an African American Muslim home, education was taken very seriously. My mother was the only one in her family that graduated from college, so she had high expectations for her children and wanted us to achieve in education. My parents not only believed in acquiring a good education, but they also believed in the Nation of Islam concept of “one should be self-sufficient.” Elijah Muhammad, the leader of Nation of Islam said “Life means you have activity in accord with your nature. If you are poor in spirit, then you are not doing for yourself what the energy of life would call you to do. When you are a living person, you don’t ask others to feed you, clothe you, shelter you, educate you, and give you a job.”

The non-fiction book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, details the happenings and life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman and tobacco farmer who became a medical miracle in the 1950’s. The book is written in an attempt to chronicle both the experiences and tribulations of Henrietta Lacks and her family, as well as the events that led to, and resulted from, research done on Henrietta Lacks’ cells. Henrietta was a very average African American woman in this period; she had only a seventh-grade level education, and followed traditional racial and gender roles by spending her time has a mother and caretaker, as well as working on farms throughout her life until the involvement of the US in World War II brought her and her husband, “Day” Lacks, comparatively better work opportunities in industrial steel mills. However, after her death in 1951 Henrietta became much more than average to doctors at John Hopkins when the discovered that cells extracted from her cancerous tissue continued to live and grow much longer than any other tissue samples. Further investigation and isolation of these thriving cells led to the creation of the first ever immortal human cell line in medical history. The incredible progress in medicine made possible by Henrietta Lack’s tissue cells were not without downfalls, though. The treatments and experiences received by Henrietta and the effects it had on her and her family demonstrate both racial and gender

The treatment of African Americans in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks demonstrates the lack of ethics in the United States health care system during the 1950s and 1960s. Under the impression that medical doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital were solely injecting radium treatment for cervical cancer, Henrietta Lacks laid on the surgical bed. During this procedure Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr. shaved two pieces of tissue from her vagina, one from a healthy cervical tissue and one from the cancerous tumor, without Henrietta’s prior knowledge. After recovering from her surgery Henrietta exited the door marked, “Blacks Only,” the door that signified the separation between White and African-American patients. Had Henrietta been White, would the

Racism is immortal just like Henrietta’s cells it will always be around. People would do anything to be the first to discover something. At the end of the day it’s all about the money. The Mississippi appendectomies and the Tuskegee experiments were similar in the way that the government forced treatment upon minorities without consent. Henrietta’s case was different than Mississippi and Tuskegee because the doctor in Johns Hopkins didn’t experiment on her actual body but on her cells without consent. Henrietta’s case the Tuskegee experiments and the Mississippi Appendectomies are all different cases in different locations but serve the same purpose which is to take advantage of poor and uneducated minorities to

She continues to enhance, many, many lives who are unaware of her past existence. After all, she has a rich and important history and a great legacy that she left for her family to carry. We want to raise awareness and encourage action to problems the world is facing such as poverty, unemployment, racism, ethical issues, education, communication, and tissue ownership. Our family is focusing on positive aspects of Henrietta’s scientific contribution to the world.

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951, when ethics were not so important to doctors as much as the breaking medical discovery. Henrietta's cells were taken from her without consent from her or her family, also known as HeLa cells. Lack's cells have made an extensive impact on the world today. Now, the knowledge we have about her cells being took from her, makes the world question the ethics that were set in stone in this time and place. Henrietta Lacks has made a permanent impression to all who know about her story.

Bringing Henrietta to Life: Creating Dialogue on Disparities across Disciplines Henrietta Lacks was a woman who made an eye-opening breakthrough in medicine in the early 1950s. Her cells were the first immortal cells to be discovered which paved the way for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in-vitro fertilization, and more. Unfortunately, there are two sides to every story. Although, modern medicine would not be where it is today without Hela cells, Henrietta’s family continued to struggle with her legacy because of the health disparities associated with ethics, race, and medicine. Henrietta’s cells were taken without her knowledge and used to cure various medical conditions.

Henrietta Lacks was a black woman that grew up in the rural segregated south; her lifespan was from 1921 to1951. She grew up on her grandfather Lacks tobacco farm after her mother died giving birth to her tenth child. From the time she was four years old, she picked, cleaned, and harvested tobacco leaves, spending little or no time in school; she had at most a 6th grade education. By the time she was fourteen, Henrietta had given birth

In the book of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, explains that Henrietta Lack was born on August 1, 1920. She had 10 brothers and unfortunately her mother died when she was giving birth to her tenth child. The decision his father made was to return to Clover, Virginia with his family. Since he did not have the patience to raise children, he decided to divide the children with his family. Henrietta stayed with her grandfather. The house where Henrietta's grandfather lived is a home-house, it had four rooms, where once the slave’s quarters and inside of the house was cold. Another grandchild who lives with his grandfather was David Lack (Day). Henrietta and Day each day got up at four in the morning, to work in the plantation of tobacco, corn, peanuts and greens. Another of his tasks were milk the cows and feed chickens, hogs and horses. Unfortunately, Henrietta could not have a united family because her mother died. As we can see Henrietta attend only to six grade of school.

The literature The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was written by a journalist, Rebecca Skloot. Henrietta Lacks was one of ten children born on August 1, 1920 in Clover, Virginia (Skloot, 2010, p. 18). After Henrietta’s mother passed away in 1924, she went to live with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks and her cousin, David Lacks (Skloot, 2010, p. 19). Her grandfather raised both children in his home. As children, Henrietta and David worked the tobacco farm together with other cousins (Skloot, 2010, p. 19). As life progressed, David and Henrietta married and had five children together (Skloot, 2010, p. 24). Later on, they moved to Turner Station near Baltimore, Maryland (Skloot, 2010, p. 26). In January 1951, Henrietta found a solid lump

Henrietta Lacks is the most important person in this world. She had helped people with cancer and she had made new medicine for people who are sick. Even though she doesn't know what she did in this world with her cells; people around the world are really thankful for what she did. She would be happy to know that she helped millions of people. Henrietta’s family went through a lot of things when she died, but now knowing that her cells are still alive, this makes them really glad. Now they know that she will always be there for them even though is just her cells been

In literature, “immortality” is when someone's legacy is remembered. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks involves various references to immortality. HeLa left a strong impact in the science community. Henrietta is remembered as the woman behind the cells. Deborah was an important asset in gathering information..

Henrietta Lacks lived and died before the Helsinki agreement gave the world guidelines for informed consent in medical research. She had no consent form. She had no idea what was killing her. She didn’t even know she was dying. She lay in pain in the hospital while they scraped her uterine wall and then when they knew the cells were cancerous they kept the cells and sent her home, without giving her any financial help or clear explanation of what would happen to her.