The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Essay

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a scientific biography written by Rebecca Skloot. I usually do not find myself reading this specific type of genre, but I found myself to really enjoy this book. When I first looked at the cover, I was not expecting to learn about a woman that has changed medical research forever. The famous picture of Henrietta with her hands on her hips made her look like an average woman that may have lived to be an old age. The first chapter confirmed that my assumption was incorrect and that this book consisted of the journey of an important woman that has allowed the medical field to achieve its accomplishments.

After reading this book, I have become more concerned with health care as a consumer. Although laws

I have always had a passion for learning about how the human body operates. I want to take my knowledge and assist patients in their process to get back to good health. If anything, this book has caused me to want to become a health care provider even more. Henrietta’s experience at John Hopkins was an unfortunate situation. The doctors probably did not expect her cells to be as advantageous as they were, but they still should have asked for her consent. As a health care provider, I want to be able to not only help patients, but also make sure they are treated properly. Patients need doctors and nurses. I feel that some healthcare providers see their patients are just another person, instead of someone that has a different health problem that others. I want to treat my patients with respect and generally care for their well being. In other hospitals and clinics, especially where I will work, I want to make sure that patients are no mistreated or taken advantage

Back when people began finding out about the cells, media was not as big as it is today. The HeLa cells that are “immortal” and advancing ways in medical research that most did not think was even possible, would have made headlines all around the world. Usually, most children know when their parents go to the doctor for health problems as major as cancer. Also, technology has made huge strides since Henrietta’s time. Doctors would have been able to complete tests on her cells much quicker than before, which would have allowed doctors to see how advantageous Henrietta’s cells were. The news would have been out about the “immortal” cells just shortly after several tests were done on her cells. Henrietta’s family would have pieced together their mother’s recent visits to John Hopkins and the media coverage behind the new cells to figure out that Henrietta’s cells were being used for medical