Henrietta Lacks Reflection

Cancer is a topic that I hold close to my heart. I’ve had my fare share of encounters with cancer given that many people close to me have been affected by cancer. One of the main reasons that I have been so heavily interested in Biology is because I get to learn more about something that has caused a lot of negativity in my life. I believe the more that I learn about cancer, the easier the pain is to carry.

The novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot was recently assigned to be by my AP Biology teacher. The novel talks about important ethic concerns, racial problems, and the beginning story behind many scientific discoveries that are very important in the scientific world today. It is a novel I will always remember because of everything I learned from the story.

Henrietta Lack was an African American woman who died at the age of 35 because of cancer. Her story is about her difficult battle with cancer and also the problems she faced ethically and racially. As a woman of color, Henrietta was not treated with respect by the whit doctors that treated her. She could constantly not be heard when she felt her body getting worse and she felt that she could never contradict what the doctors said. Henrietta lived during the 50s, a time when slavery had ended in the United States but segregation was still very prevalent. On top of being treated differently because if the color of her skin, Henrietta was taken advantage of by her doctors and scientists. Her cells/tissues were used to grow immortal cells that are used for medical research. However, Henrietta was never made known that her cells were being used nor was she asked by the doctors who took them. Even after her death, scientists used her cells for research not even giving her body the peace every human being deserves after death. To learn more about Henrietta’s story at a look at the link below.

As a young woman of color interested in science, this novel thought me a lot about what I hope for my future. I realized that I should be proud of my ethnic background and I should not allow anyone to hold be back because of the color of my skin. I also realized that as a woman, I should push to be heard by the world that is dominated by men. And finally, as a future scientists, I should always remember that every human being has rights and I have to respect their rights even if I am trying to change the world. I would highly recommend this book and I hope that all of you get the chance to read it one day.

Work Cited

Butanis, Benjamin. “The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks.” The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks, 9 Mar. 2020, http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/.

HBO, director. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) | Official Trailer | HBO. Youtube, 2017, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jxEX1XQpY.

Moorhead, Joanna. “Henrietta Lacks: the Mother of Modern Medicine.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 June 2010, http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/23/henrietta-lacks-cells-medical-advances.