The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Review 1
who is Chester Southam and what did he do with HeLa?
cancer researcher who conducted unethical experiments without patient consent to see whether or not injections of HeLa cells could cause cancer.
What was the war on cancer?
Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act into, designating $1.5 billion for cancer research; announcing that scientist will find a cure with in five years, which led to HeLa Bomb.
Who is TeLinde?
"Uncle Dick", he pioneered the use of estrogen for treating some symptoms of menopause and made early discoveries about endometriosis
When did Henrietta die?
12.15 a.m. October 4, 1951
What year does "informed consent" appear in court documents?
1957
When does the Lacks family find out about HeLa?
1973; 22 years after Henrietta's cells were taken
What is radium?
a radioactive metal that glows and eerie blue and it destroys any cells on contact. Over exposure can cause cell mutations that can turn into cancer but also can kills cancer cells if use correctly.
What are carcinomas?
most cervical cancers are this, which grow from the epithelial cells that cover the cervix and protect its surface
What is mitosis?
the process of cell division where cells duplicate to create generate two, identical, daughter nuclei.
What is a Biopsy?
the removal and examination of tissue from the body of someone who is sick, in order to find out more about their disease
What is Gynecology?
the scientific study and treatment of the medical conditions and diseases of women connected to their sexual reproductive organ
How many children did Henrietta have?
5
how many siblings did Henrietta have?
9
When and where was Henrietta born?
August 1st, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia
Why were Henrietta's family upset about HeLa?
Because they didn't notify the family until many years after Henrietta's death. They made billions of dollars off of HeLa while the Lacks family can't even afford healthcare or without giving credit to Henrietta.
What is the setting of the book?
Clover, Virginia
Who is Henrietta's husband?
David "Day" Lacks- also known as her cousin.
What was Henrietta's misdiagnosis?
Epidermoid carcinomas
Who created the first immortal human cell?
George Gey. He dies years later from pancreatic cancer
Who is George Gey?
Head of tissue-culture research at Johns Hopkins. He developed the techniques used to grow HeLa cells from Henrietta's cancer tissue.
What was Henrietta's second identity?
Helen Lane
Who is Joe Lacks?
Henrietta and Day's fifth child (also known as Zakariyya Bari Abdul Rahman). Henrietta was diagnosed with cervical cancer shortly after his birth.
Who is Lawrence Lacks
Henrietta and Day's firstborn child.
Who is Deborah "Dale" Lacks?
Henrietta and Day's fourth child. She helps the author write the book.
Who is David Jr. "Sonny" Lacks?
Henrietta and Day's third child.
What was Henrietta's treatment for her cancer?
Henrietta's treatment consisted of having radium attached to the tumor on her cervix and was exposed to constant radiation treatment until her torso turned black.
Where did Henrietta live when her mother, Eliza Pleasant, died?
Her father, Johnny Pleasant, brought her and her siblings to Clover, Virginia, where his family farmed tobacco fields. Relatives divided up the 10 kids. Henrietta ended up living with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks.
Where did Henrietta go to get treatment for her cancer?
Johns Hopkins' gynecology clinic
What was Henrietta's birth name?
Loretta Pleasant
What happened to Henrietta's second child?
Lucile Elsie, Henrietta's second child, was born deaf, and never learned how to talk. Later she is institutionalized to a hospital for the negro insane due to epilepsy and dies at the age of 15.
What are the major themes of the book?
Racism, informed consent, Morality, and scientific ethics
Who requires informed consent toward all human research?
The Federal Policy for Protection of Human Subjects
Who Opens the first "cell factory" for HeLa?
The Tuskegee Institute
What do cells makeup in the human body?
Tissues, muscles, blood, organs, organ systems, and bones
Where did many blacks go to during the "Great Migration?"
Turner Station
When did Henrietta start complaining about a knot?
a couple of weeks after Deborah's birth
Who is Victor McKusick
a geneticist at Johns Hopkins who conducted research on samples taken from Henrietta's children without informed consent to learn more about HeLa cells.
What is HeLa?
an abbreviation given to the world's first immortal human cells that were cut from Henrietta Lacks' cervix months before she died
What does the nucleus of a cell do?
contains DNA that holds genetic information
What was the biggest conflict with cell cultures?
contamination, microorganisms and bacteria could easily find their way into cultures from unwashed hands, their breath, dust particles floating through the air and destroy the cells
Why did Henrietta die?
from terminal uremia: blood poisoning from the build up of toxins normally flushed out of the body in urine. However tumors completely blocked her urethra.
How do people get cancer?
genetic factors, lifestyle choices such as tobacco use, diet, and physical activity; certain types of infections; and environmental exposures to different types of chemicals and radiation.
What are invasive and noninvasive carcinomas?
invasive are cancer cells that have already penetrated the surface of the cervix, while noninvasive haven't
What was Henrietta's diagnosis?
invasive cervical adenocarcinomas
What sicknesses did HeLa help make medications for?
polio, herpes, leukemia, influenza, hemophilia, Parkinson's disease
Who is Alexis Carrel?
scientist that claims to have successfully grown " immortal" chicken-heart cells. He inspires George Gey to make first immortal human cell.
what is the Nuremberg code?
set of ethical standards for human experimentation, is produced as the result of a trail against several Nazi doctors who conducted experiments on prisoners during WWII
What is the HeLa bomb?
that HeLa cells have contaminated numerous cell lines.
Why was healthcare so terrible (particularly African Americans) during the early 1900s
there was constant experimentation on African American's and they were seen as potential research. There were rumors of kidnapping by "night doctors," and many scientist tricked or deceived blacks into experimentation. For example, Chester Southam.
HeLa cells were the first of what?
to be shipped via postal mail, to go to space, to be cloned, and to become an animal-human hybrid
