Henrietta Lacks Sacrifice

Words: 1669
Pages: 7

“Take care of them kids, don't let 'em forget about me.”—As she lay on her deathbed. These would be the last words spoken by Henrietta Lacks before she died from cervical cancer. Who knew that from these words, Rebecca Skloot's book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” would follow the life of Henrietta Lacks, a young African American woman diagnosed with cervical cancer, who went in for cancer treatment, cells were extracted from her tumor without her awareness. From these very cells, known as HeLa cells, they would go on to make significant advances in medicine. Despite the significant advances made possible by HeLa cells, Lacks receives little credit for her contributions. For this reason, Rebecca Skloot has spent over a decade investigating and recounting the story of Lacks, her family, and the HeLa cells in her book, “The Immortal Life of …show more content…
The idea that Henrietta deserves acknowledgment for the personal sacrifices she made in the interest of medical progress, as well as for her immortal cells, is reinforced by this emotive appeal. Lastly, Rebecca Skloot can use logos to contribute to her claim that Henrietta Lacks deserves to be recognized as more than just her immortal cells. The section has an explanation for the scientific studies and medical treatments performed on Henrietta Lacks, including the creation of the Pap smear test and the use of radium in cancer therapy—” Cervical carcinomas are divided into two types: invasive carcinomas, which have penetrated the surface of the cervix, and noninvasive carcinomas, which haven’t. The noninvasive type is sometimes called “sugar-icing carcinoma,” because it grows in a smooth layered sheet across the surface of the cervix, but its official name is carcinoma in situ, which derives from the Latin for “cancer in its original