Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks

Introduction

Henrietta lacks was a poor woman who worked as a tobacco farmer. On February 1, 1951 Howard Jones who is a physician at Hopkins found a tumor on Henrietta's cervix, and cut a section of the tumor that was sent to the lab for diagnosis (American, 2007).

Discussion

Q#1. Provide a brief synopsis of Henrietta Lacks and why she is considered one of the most important women in medical history (American, 2007).

Synopsis of Henrietta Lacks

Scientist knows Henrietta Lack by the name Hela. She had a cancer. She struggles a lot in her life. After her treatment, result showed that the tumor was malignant. Eight days later before giving Henrietta her first treatment, more sample of her cells were taken to send to George Gey who was the director of tissue lines at Hopkins. Henrietta's cell (HeLa cell) ended Gey's 30 year quest to culture “immortal” cells because soon after receiving the cells, they started to multiple. They still live today by uncountable numbers and can be used for all sort of research.

Henrietta Lacks is called as most important women in the history of medical science because of the fact that her cells have utilized for the research of cancer and for vaccines. The cells of Henrietta lack were used to create “immortal” cells that provided a steady supply of cells for medical research and allowed to find a cure for various diseases, and guaranteed the medical industry millions of dollar when her family his struggling to pay for healthcare. Moreover, researchers at Johns Hopkins asked the Lack's family for the sample of blood for cancer test when, in fact, the sample were used solely to identify their mother's cell. The researchers never contacted back the Lack's family, and some of them still wonder if they have the same cancer that ...