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Research Paper On Henrietta Lacks

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In 1951, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital. Henrietta complained of a knot in her womb that caused her pain so she decided to visit the hospital in search of diagnosis. After being diagnosed with cervical cancer, the doctor recommended a biopsy be done on her cancerous tissue. Without any consent, Henrietta’s doctors took tissue samples from her cervix and attempted to grow them and keep them alive. These cells were known as HeLa cells, they began to grow at an unbelievable rate; The HeLa cell became vital for the development of vaccines and other scientific research. However because of Henrietta’s race and economic standpoint, Henrietta Lacks and the rest of the Lacks family was exploited by doctors. The exploitation of the family allowed the doctors and researchers to benefit scientifically and monetarily. …show more content…

The chapter talks about her youth, she grew up in the small town of Clover, Virginia. She lived with Day (her cousin), later marrying him. Just months after her fourteenth birthday, Day and Henrietta had their first child together; Lawrence. Four years later, Lucile Elsie Pleasant is born, she was different then the other children, according to Skloot (2010) “To the folks in Lacks Town, she was just simple. Touched.” (pg. 23). Later on, Lucile was diagnosed with a real diagnosis –
That diagnosis was epilepsy, mental retardation, and neurosyphillis. Henrietta seems to be like an average person back then, it was deemed acceptable to marry cousins back in that time so nothing else seems that out of the ordinary about Henrietta. Henrietta just got unlucky when they decided to take her cells from her cancerous

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