It’s not very often that I do a blog post about a book I’ve read. I’m an avid reader, mostly books I download onto my Kindle. I’m in two book groups. And this book is one I read for one of these groups. I do update my left sidebar regularly which contains a section all about what I’m reading, in case you rarely go look at my actual blog site, but read my posts through a blog reader.
I’d read about this book in a magazine sometime last year, and thought it sounded interesting, so I was glad when one of my groups decided to read it.
Have you ever heard of HeLa cells? You’re about to learn. From the moment I ticked my Kindle to the first page, I could hardly put it down. This is NOT a book of fiction. It’s a true story. About Henrietta Lacks, a very poor black woman who found out in 1950 that she had cervical cancer. She was treated at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, a hospital that was founded on the principles of providing health care to the needy and poor. She was treated in the “colored” section of the hospital. The treatment for such cancer at that time was limited. Radium rods were inserted in her cervix for a day or two, then removed, and it was hoped that the cancer would recede. In Henrietta’s case, it did not work, and she died some months later in 1951, her body consumed by malignant tumors. She was married with five children, one an infant. She was 28 years old.
But, during the treatment her doctor removed a dime-sized piece of tissue from her cervix – cancerous tissue – and gave it to a colleague to test it. At the time, no lab researchers had been able to grow cancer cells in a petri dish or test tube, and the research lab within Johns Hopkins was attempting to grow cancerous tissue. They needed it in order to test possible treatments – the goal of trying to find a cure for cancer. After dividing the tiny piece of tissue into many even tinier pieces, the lab assistant put it aside to grow. A couple of days later the tiny pieces of tissue (cells) had not only grown, but they’d grown hugely. Henrietta’s doctor and the research colleague were thrilled. It was a huge breakthrough in medical science. The doctor gave samples of her cells to other researchers (at no charge). There was not a thought about marketing it – these were research physicians who were on a mission to cure cancer. And in the years since, many drugs have been developed to treat some diseases (like HIV and leukemia). All thanks to Henrietta Lacks.
Henrietta was not consulted about the small piece of tissue removed from her cancerous cervix. If she’d been asked, she might have agreed. But at the time, doctors (particularly those running clinics for the poor) simply took samples as a routine – from most patients. And most patients weren’t consulted. At the time such tissue samples were identified with a unique code – the first two letters of the patient’s first and last name. Hence we have HeLa. And HeLa cells are now, to this day, continuing to grow and thrive and provide fodder to cancer testing around the world. What’s unique about Henrietta’s cells is that they grow at an astounding rate – far faster than any other tissue ever grown from another tissue sample. So cancer testing can be done in a shorter period of time, speeding up the process. Laboratories and pharmaceutical companies and individual researchers buy HeLa cells now, and pay enormous sums for it. None of the profits ever went to Henrietta’s family. I do want to clarify here: according to the author, Johns Hopkins never profited from the growing of HeLa cells. They gave it away. It was other companies, laboratories, hospitals that decided to become profiteers of her cells.
Rebecca Skloot, the author, took 10 years writing this book. She’s a young woman – if you’re interested, check out her website. She began researching HeLa when she was a graduate student, but it took years for the Lacks family to trust her. Part of the story involves several road trips Rebecca took with Henrietta’s daughter Deborah trying to find some further family history, with the push-pull of Deborah’s untrusting temperament. So many people had strung them along, promising, promising. There’s no question the research community as a whole mistreated the Lacks family. But court cases (regarding who owns tissue samples) that have taken place in the ensuing years clearly state that once something is removed from our bodies (like a malignant tumor, or a cyst) it is no longer owned by the patient. This brings up a lot of questions for people who have an interest in medical ethics. The author devotes 40+ pages as an afterword about the subject.
The author established a foundation from the proceeds of this book, to benefit the heirs of Henrietta Lacks – hopefully it will be used to send some of her great-grandchildren to college.
Writing more here about this book would be easy, but maybe too tedious for you to read. You owe it to yourself to read it. If you have a smidgen of interest in the medical field, you simply must read this book. Again, it’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Gloria
said on March 25th, 2011:
Great review Carolyn! I will be put this on my reading list.
It’s so worth the read. . . carolyn t
Eva
said on April 8th, 2011:
This seems like a gripping, compelling, though very, very depressing book. It makes me think of the terrible Tuskegee syphilis experiments that were done of black men. Terrible! I will put it on my reading list. Many thanks for sharing this.
You’ll be glad to have read it. Actually, I didn’t find the book depressing, but I’m glad that the author brought the story to light so we can be grateful for Henrietta Lacks’ life and that her cancer cells have provided such special growth qualities. Many lives have been saved because of the one little scrape of cells. It’s sad that her family never benefited from Henrietta’s contribution, though. . . . carolyn t