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The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Analysis

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“Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness” (Immanuel Kant). Morality is the divergence between right and wrong in every aspect of life. The history of the world has demonstrated human need to attain sovereignty. In the journey to achieve this goal, people have forgotten the gravity of the steps taken to complete an ideal and have only focused on the result. There have been several examples where detrimental actions have been taken by fortunate people to accomplish their goals. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman, living in the early 1900s in eastern United States. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital at the age of 31, on January 29, 1951. The doctors prescribed her treatment plan as several Radium sessions and an initial surgery to help extirpate the tumor from her body. However, in her first surgery, without obtaining consent, the doctors extracted more than just her tumor. They took samples Henrietta’s cells. Using them, scientist George Gey was able to initiate the first immortal human cell line, denominated HeLa, and help cure various diseases. However, taking advantage of Henrietta’s race and socioeconomic status the doctors never informed her family about her revolutionary cells. …show more content…

In the poignant memoir, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by the tenacious reporter and compelling author Rebecca Skloot, the disingenuous doctors were immoral when extracting the precious HeLa cells without

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Henrietta Lacks, an African American tobacco farmer from southern Virginia, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at 30 years old. During her treatment at John Hopkins Hospital, one of the doctors took a piece of her tumor without her knowledge or consent and sent it to scientists who had been unsuccessfully attempting to grow tissues in culture for decades. There is no explanation as to why, but her cells never died. To this day they are still alive and have been used throughout the years to great advantages in curing diseases. Henrietta’s cells have played a part in some of the world’s most important medical advances such as the development of the polio vaccine, cloning, vitro fertilization, gene mapping, and they even went up in the first space

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Sonali Sagar Block: 2B May 12th 2015 The Degradation of Morals and Ethics In the book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks the author Rebecca Skloot tells us about a non-fiction story of an African American women who is diagnosed with cervical cancer and how the medical community exploited her for use of her “immortal” cells. From then onwards the cells have been used for widespread medical advancement and research. There is no denying the good that has come from this as even the polio vaccine was developed from these HeLa cells. Moreover, it has also been aiding with finding a cure for cancer as well as assisting with further research on AIDS.

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Hela cells. Not necessarily the cells themselves has changed anything, but the person they were taken from; Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whom was born August 1, 1920. Before passing on October 4, 1951, Henrietta approached Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, trying to find out what was bringing her awful abnormal pains and abdominal bleeding: soon after she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer and treated with radium and x-ray therapy. During one particular visit tissue samples were taken from Henrietta while being ‘treated’ for her cancer and studied. Rebecca Skloot wrote, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, bringing to light the ‘complex social issues’ and ‘ethical dilemmas’ that entwined with HeLa cells and medical research.

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"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot is a captivating non-fiction book that explores the fascinating story of Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman whose cancer cells were unknowingly taken and used for medical research without her consent in the 1950s. The book cover depicts a photograph of Henrietta Lacks herself, adding a personal touch to the story and emphasizing the importance of her life and legacy. Skloot's thorough research and poignant storytelling shed light on the complicated ethical issues surrounding medical research and the impact that Henrietta's cells, known as HeLa cells, have had on modern medicine. In "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," Rebecca Skloot masterfully tells the story of a woman

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Not only was Henrietta Lacks an African-American during the 1940s, but she was highly uneducated, immediately she was seen as unworthy. When Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr., the surgeon on duty, examined her cervix, doctors ignored Henrietta’s right to know her cells were going to be extracted. On page 33, it states “--though no one had told Henrietta that TeLinde was collecting samples or asked if she wanted to be a donor-- Wharton picked up a sharp knife and shaved.tissue from Henrietta’s cervix” (33 Skloot). At that moment, Henrietta was no longer seen as a patient, but as a possible medical

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Henrietta 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.

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Despite the wrongdoings Henrietta Lacks was put through her cells did a lot to help advance science. Her cells helped develop different types of vaccines, which such as her daughter faced. A lot of good and bad came out of Henrietta’s

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Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.

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On January 29, 1951, an African American woman named Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with Stage 1, Epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix, after her visit to John Hopkins Hospital. Henrietta began radium treatments which was proven to kill cancer cells and a safer option than surgery, according to her physician Howard Jones. Jones increased Henrietta’s dose of radiation in hopes to decrease the size of the tumors however the treatments were proven ineffective and her skin was burned blacker while the pain grew unbearable until she passed away on October 4, 1951. She left behind her husband David “Day” and five children: Lawrence, Elsie, David Jr, Deborah, and Zakariyya (Joe). This paper will focus on how Henrietta Lack’s and her family’s experience

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Rebecca 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.

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