August 2011 Archives

      The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a novel written by Rebecca Skloot that explains in detail both the science behind Henrietta's case and the tribulation her family suffered.  Henrietta Lacks was an impoverished black woman whom contracted cervical cancer through a sexually transmitted disease known as the Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV.  Mrs. Lacks was in need of radiation treatment, during which doctors collected a specimen of her cancerous cervix cells without her knowledge or consent.  Although Henrietta's life was eventually taken by the cancer, her cancerous cells continued to reproduce and not die off, unlike any other cells the doctors had collected.  These HeLa cells, as they were named, became a breakthrough in science and medicine. Yet, the Lacks family continues their lives in destitution, oblivious to what Henrietta had done for the world.

      The story of Henrietta Lacks and her cells provoke a question that has been answered in conflicting ways. That question being, why do her cells behave so adversely?  Science will say that she had a genetic abnormality that allowed her cells to regenerate their losses each time they replicated.  The Lacks family, however, was never educated in the ways of science.  Therefore, this answer does not make sense to them.  That is why they came up with their own conclusion, Henrietta was an angel.  The family believed that Henrietta's immortal soul, promised to her by Jesus, is alive within those cells.  The cells have helped so many people that the Lacks family considers Henrietta an angel sent by God to help the world.  Both science and theology attempt to understand the cause of the never ending reproduction of the HeLa cells.

      This question and its respectful responses are a perfect example of how this world is interconnected.  Being human and Christian in this world is what allows a theory like that of Henrietta's cells being her immortalized soul to be recognized rather than ostracized.  The strength of the Lacks family in their faith is an inspiration to all of Christian descent.  Being human is what allows people to disagree, yet acknowledge other points-of-view.  As this tranquility between humans is allowed to develop, there may be no need to debate our beliefs. In a world where people are able to coexist with those who do not agree with them, dissent might no longer be expressed as long as they reach a consensus that there is no one ultimate truth.

      As I read this book I became very torn as to why Henrietta's cells were so unique.  I looked at the scientific solution and the Lacks family's explanation and found logic and validity in both perspectives.  It was after much pondering that I realized I did not have to choose. Being of a world in which humans are connected, we don't have to agree with one side or another.  We may simply acknowledge both theories and even theorize for ourselves. All answers can be taken as opinion with the open-mindedness that this world has the potential to offer.

                There is no doubt to me that race played a father in the story of Henrietta Lacks. She was not only a terminally ill cancer patient; she was also treated adversely due to the color of her skin. Henrietta's life was full of racism from her life prior to being diagnosed to being treated to her death and even to those attempting to tell her story.  She faced segregation and being devalued throughout her life and ironically the woman who attempted to tell her story met the same fate. Granted Henrietta lived in a time of segregation, her medical treatment was still subpar due to her race, and that is not how the doctrine of "Separate but Equal" was meant to be enforced.

                In a tragic story such as Henrietta's, bad karma is shifted to all those involved with the story. Take Rebecca Skloot as prime example. She called Roland Patillo to begin her investigation on Henrietta and he made her feel like that because she was white she couldn't understand (Page 50). Furthermore, on many occasions in the novel, Rebecca's whereabouts in certain geographic locations are questioned as if she does not belong certain places because the color of her skin (Pages 70, 79). In the epitome of irony, the writer searching for the story and justice of a racially profiled black woman became a white woman who was racially profiled. Racism is not always against African Americans, it can be from any race pointed at any other.

                In this era of Henrietta's tale, many laws restricted the freedoms of African Americans. Many of Henrietta's experiences were not atypical of a black woman living in this time. There are multiple examples of how she could only use the "colored ward" or the "colors operation room" (Pages 31, 32). Even other African Americans of the time were referred to specifically as "negroes" in the papers, including scientists. (Who were reported as "Negro Scientists) (Page 97) Scientists are still considered among the most prestigious occupations one can have, whether you are black or white. The time frame in which the story takes place was unjustified, to say the least, towards black people of this era.

                The thorn in the paw of most readers is the medical treatment of African Americans in this time. Horrors such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Studies and the Mississippi Appendectomies is proof enough there was extreme inequality within the medical system (Page 50).These acts of cruelty were never performed on white patients because, as so many white doctors put it, they had plenty of black people to test their theories on (Page 30). The closest comparison I can find of a white woman with a similar condition to Henrietta had the identical treatment except for one thing. The white woman's cells were not removed without consent or notice as Henrietta's had been (Page 64). The white woman had somehow earned a higher prestige in the eye of the doctor because of the pale color of her skin.

                This type of thing happened because of many white doctors' opinions of black patients as the equivalent to guinea pigs. Despite this treatment of black patients, even those who were not experimented on received subpar treatment. White doctors from this era were much more arrogant with their profession and no patient, black or white, wanted to disagree with the all-knowing doctor (Page 65). White doctors spoke with such a condescending tone that the bond of trust between physician and patient was lost, in black patients slightly more so than white patients (Page 65). Being black and in need of medical care during this area was difficult no matter how sick you were.

                The entire story of Henrietta Lacks is plagued by racism, inequality, prejudice, and profiling. All of these things affected her life with her family then continued to affect her life after she got sick, and it still continues to haunt those who attempted to tell her story after her death. No one involved in the life of Henrietta Lacks is left unaffected by these social injustices that she had to face from the moment of her birth all the way to her painful death. Whether you knew the person, you wrote her story, or even read her story; racism and profiling have now impacted all of those involved with Henrietta and her story.