Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

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Sarah Vyverberg Dr. Voss Biology Recitation 1190 4 March 2024 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: The Woman Behind Modern Science Loretta Pleasant, now widely known as Henrietta Lacks, was born in Roanoke, Virginia in 1920. She would later go on to live with her grandfather, Tom, in a house that used to be the slave quarters built by Henrietta’s white, slave-owning ancestors. She married her cousin, David Lacks, with whom she would have five children before dying of cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951. But part of her didn’t die. Her cancerous cells, HeLa, would continue to grow in a hospital lab long after her death and would lead to revolutionary discoveries and advancements in numerous fields of science. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks …show more content…
Through tracking down Henrietta’s living relatives, particularly her four living children, she was able to uncover the truth of Henrietta’s life. One of the most pivotal events in her life was her cancer diagnosis in 1951. Henreitta had cervical cancer, likely caused by HPV contracted by her husband. Despite radiation treatments and surgeries, she was unable to defeat her particularly aggressive cancer. Not long after, his oldest daughter, Elise, who was institutionalized for epilepsy, would follow her. Prior to Henrietta’s tragic death, a biopsy of her tumor was sent to George Gey, a cellular biologist conducting research at Hopkins. This was unknown to Henrietta or any of her family at the time. Gey was able to grow what he called HeLa, cells that were extremely hearty and thrived like nothing else seen before in cell culture. The field of cell culture at the time of the discovery of HeLa was not refined. George Gey built most of his lab and equipment by hand. The incubator that HeLa was first grown in was an invention of Gey’s: the roller

Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a very intriguing story. The story follows the Lacks family as they deal with the main character, Henrietta Lacks’ battle with cervical cancer and the aftermath of her death. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks begins in 1951, a time where racism and segregation still existed. The Lacks were poor and medical care was reserved for issues where they had no other choice but to see a doctor. In the opening Henrietta visits Johns Hopkins Hospital complaining…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who began to experience pain after giving birth to her fourth child. She visited a doctor saying she had a “knot on her womb” and was referred to John Hopkins Hospital. John Hopkins hospital was the only hospital that treated black patients around that time. After her examination, Dr. Howard Jones confirmed that Henrietta Lacks had a purple lump on her cervix. Dr. Richard TeLinde and Dr. George Gey, were two of the best researchers at John Hopkins. Dr. Gey…

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Research Paper On Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks’ Reality made her become immortal. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about an African American woman whose cancerous cells were stolen to change medicine. Henrietta lived during the jim crow era. As a minority, she has gone through so many more obstacles than others. She grew up on a farm with very little income and many people to care for. She had to become strong for her family and for herself. These obstacles made her emotionally strong enough to be calm at the moment she…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was born in Roanoke Virginia, on August 1, 1920. Henrietta had eight siblings, and unfortunately his mother Eliza Lacks Pleasant, died when she was giving birth to her tenth child. Johnny Pleasant, Henrietta's father did not have the patience to raising all children, He took the decision to return to Clover, Virginia where his family worked in the tobacco plantations. Johnny distributed his children with his family and Henrietta stayed with her grandfather Tommy Lacks. In her childhood…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Tonya Reyes -Dickerson – Med 100 Independence University Write a paper to suggest a solution to how this situation should be handled both ethically and legally and defend it. Be sure to include the evidence from the excerpt that supports your decision. You should also include at least one external source to support your solution. The paper must be 500 words or more. TONYA REYES-DICKERSON WK 4 ASSIGNMENT- MED100 2 This paper is on Henrietta Lacks a poor African…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

save thousands. With this immensely impressive feat, one would instantly become a household name. But imagine after all of this, for years, your name and story would be virtually unquestioned and almost certainly unknown. This was the case for Henrietta Lacks, known only as HeLa for years following her…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

average American. A prime example of this is HeLa cells. Henrietta Lacks was a Black woman born in Virginia in 1920. One day she went to the doctor because she felt a knot in her womb and soon after she learned that she had cancer. Henrietta went to John Hopkins Hospital because it was the only hospital that offered free segregated medical healthcare to blacks. The procurement of the cells is the biggest ethical factor in the equation. Henrietta went into the Hopkins hospital to get her first radium…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

In the making of her award-winning book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot interviews the family of Henrietta Lacks to uncover the story of the creator of HeLa, the world’s first immortal cells that revolutionized medical science and led to cures for many deadly diseases and medical conditions. Despite Henrietta’s major contribution to the medical field, her children continue to suffer because of her death. Because she died early on in her children’s lives, her youngest daughter…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks, a woman known for liking to help others. She was the first person to be known to have immortal cells. Her cells were taken from her and used in many medicines and researches. They soon were sent around the world to scientist wanting to research them. The cells were able to create vaccines, perform new tests, helped cloning and launch the field of virology. Although Henrietta never knew about the use of her cells and her family found out years later, her family was more curious than…

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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

Henrietta Lacks was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on August 1, 1920. Henrietta had eight siblings, and unfortunately his mother, Eliza Lacks Pleasant, died when she was giving birth to her tenth child. Johnny Pleasant, Henrietta's father did not have the patience to raising all children, He took the decision to return to Clover, Virginia where his family worked in the tobacco plantations. Johnny distributed his children with his family and Henrietta stayed with her grandfather Tommy Lacks. In her childhood…

Words 817 - Pages 4