the spirit love, and rasicm of HE LA

Israel Santana
7-20-12

The immortal life of Henrietta lacks.

In the book the immortal life of Henrietta Lacks there are several key issues that form the book’s plot racism, medical ethics, spirit and love. Henrietta was a black woman who grew up in a tobacco plantation in Clover, Virginia. She had little education and at a young age married her cousin which was the norm then. She moved to Baltimore where her life would take a hard turn. The story begins January 29, 1951 during the heart of segregation and Jim Crow laws in Baltimore. Henrietta Lacks goes in to John Hopkins hospital to check out what she called was “a knot I her womb”. She had told several family members about it before and assumed that it was maybe the “bad blood” her husband David Lacks had brought home from his infidelities. This would later be the key of why Henrietta’s cancer cells would become her ultimate demise and a revolutionary step forward for medical science.

The book is written and narrated by journalist Rebecca Skloot who came across the name HE LA in biology class when her instructor told the class all the marvelous discoveries and medicines HE LA cells helped developed. He said that the cells came from a black woman. When Rebecca asks who she was he had no answer for her this would become the start of an emotional, historical and scientific journey towards the true origin of these cells and it would uncover the turmoil that came from the Henrietta’s cells.

 During 1950’s many black Americans were accustomed of never question any medical advice. During her exam the gynecologist found she had a tumor near her cervix. After her visit Henrietta never brought up her condition to her husband, she didn’t want to alarm or burden anyone so she went on with her life. During her exam the doctor took a tissue sample of her cervical cancer to study it. During the time Dr. George Grey was head of tissue culture research at Hopkins hospital. He was developing methods to grow cell cultures outside the body with no results until he came across Henrietta cells. Henrietta returned to the hospital for surgery and gave consent for invasive surgery. The technique for treating cervical carcinoma was to use radium which was a white radioactive metal that glowed blue. This was a double edged sword because it caused serious side effects and would kill any cells in come in contact with including further mutations in cells. Before the surgery no one told Henrietta that they were not collecting tissue samples of her tumor cells in order to grow outside her body nor would she ever know how important the cell would become to science.

The people that grew her cells worked under Dr. George Grey, they were his wife Margret Grey a surgical nurse, and Mary Kubrick a lab technician. These two women were vital to the creation of the HE LA cells growth. Margaret was the one who developed the procedure to create the medium in which the cells grow. The cells were transferred and monitored for several days with the expectation that they would die like the rest but they continued to grow and multiply at an incredible rate. Soon Dr. George Grey had found what he was looking for, an immortal cell that can self replicate outside the body. While Henrietta’s radium treatment continued she lived her life like normal hanging out with family members and taking care of her three kids, David Jr., Deborah, and Joe. However one child was missing Elsie the oldest daughter. Elsie was born with a form of retardation which was diagnosed as “idiocy “not knowing how to take care of her after Henrietta’s fight with cancer Elsie was sent to the Baltimore, at Crownsville State hospital for the negro insane.

Henrietta returned to the hospital complaining the cancer was spreading. The medical reports stated there were no signs of the cancer reoccurring. However the abdominal pain continued and the doctors took x-rays that showed the cancer came back aggressively her urethra was blocked which made it hard for her to urinate. The cancer was diagnosed inoperable and she was sent home. Through the course of her treatment Henrietta didn’t show any off her symptoms the only thing that showed her eyes beginning to sink in. the doctor began to use aggressive technique in order to stop the tumors from growing. The radiation d=treatment left her abdomen charred and the cancer continued to grow inside her.

In order to uncover exactly who the women behind the HE LA cells were the author Rebecca Skloot had to go through a gauntlet of dead ends and obstacle. She had to gain the trust of the family and some of the people acquainted to them. She would get in contact with David Lacks himself but soon Rebecca would find out she wasn’t the first and only one to try and uncover the truth behind Henrietta Lacks. David would tell her that Hopkins stole his wife cells and they killed her, he was upset and he wouldn’t talk further about it. Rebecca had to do a little investigative work, so she soon found Mrs. Speed. A grocery store owner and close friend to the Lacks family. Ms. Speed told just how deep the turmoil the lacks family was going through due to the creation of the HE LA cells. Many reporters, film makers and scientist continued to exploit the family for their own gain without giving any information as to where how of what happened to their mother and why they took her cells without anyone’s consent.

Henrietta died October 4, 1951, she underwent excruciating painful treatments and the cancer continued to litter her body, she would never know that some where her cells thrived and grew while she was dying, her cells would become bigger than she ever was in more than one way. But her spirit and life would continue to haunt those that knew and loved her, until the truth behind her life and unforgiving demise was uncovered. And the one that would step up to do that was a white female journalist.