Book Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 
Book Review
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Summary “In culture, cancer cells can go on dividing indefinitely, if they have a continual supply of nutrients, and thus are said to be “immortal.” A striking example is a cell line that has been reproducing in culture since 1951. (Cells of this line are called HeLa cells because their original source was a tumor removed from a woman named Henrietta Lacks” Rebecca Skloot, 2011, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks was a beautiful, strong, independent, black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her ancestors. She was known to be a very kind, loving, and helpful young woman. Her children, husband and cousins loved her. Everyone knew Henrietta was a very cheerful person and was always willing to help others. It all changed when she started feeling sick. She described her pain as “A knot”, she said. “It hurt something awful- when that man want to get with me, Sweet Jesus aren’t them but some pains” (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 2010:24). On January 29, 1951, Henrietta was first taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital because of the knot she had. Johns Hopkins was her only choice fro a hospital since it was the only one near them that treated black patients. That day, Henrietta learned she had a malignant epidermis carcinoma of the cervix. But her cancer was different. Little did she know that her cancer cells would be saving lives of many others in the following years. “All cancers originate from a single cell gone wrong and are categorized based on the type of cell they start from. Most cervical cancers are carcinomas, which grow from the epithelial cells that cover the cervix and protect its surface” (Rebecca Skloot, 2010, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta was treated with radium tube inserts, which were sewn in place. Radium was first discovered in the late 1800s and it destroys any cells it encounters,
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Summary “In culture, cancer cells can go on dividing indefinitely, if they have a continual supply of nutrients, and thus are said to be “immortal.” A striking example is a cell line that has been reproducing in culture since 1951. (Cells of this line are called HeLa cells because their original source was a tumor removed from a woman named Henrietta Lacks” Rebecca Skloot, 2011, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta Lacks was a beautiful, strong, independent, black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her ancestors. She was known to be a very kind, loving, and helpful young woman. Her children, husband and cousins loved her. Everyone knew Henrietta was a very cheerful person and was always willing to help others. It all changed when she started feeling sick. She described her pain as “A knot”, she said. “It hurt something awful- when that man want to get with me, Sweet Jesus aren’t them but some pains” (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 2010:24). On January 29, 1951, Henrietta was first taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital because of the knot she had. Johns Hopkins was her only choice fro a hospital since it was the only one near them that treated black patients. That day, Henrietta learned she had a malignant epidermis carcinoma of the cervix. But her cancer was different. Little did she know that her cancer cells would be saving lives of many others in the following years. “All cancers originate from a single cell gone wrong and are categorized based on the type of cell they start from. Most cervical cancers are carcinomas, which grow from the epithelial cells that cover the cervix and protect its surface” (Rebecca Skloot, 2010, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Henrietta was treated with radium tube inserts, which were sewn in place. Radium was first discovered in the late 1800s and it destroys any cells it encounters,