I’m a ninth-grader and recently read a nonfiction book called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot. It’s a story that more people should read and understand about a woman whose life and body changed science and the world. Her cancer cells are immortal, and they have helped medical research for over 70 years and probably for decades to come.
Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who died from cervical cancer in 1951 at the age of 31. Medical professionals and scientists took both her healthy and cancer cells without her consent or knowledge before she died and again after she died. Those cells have been used throughout the world to advance medical and scientific research. She was married and had five kids, but her family didn’t know about her world-changing cells until 25 years after her death. Sadly, history shows that the case of Henrietta Lacks is not the only example when minority individuals were taken advantage of for research, such as the Tuskegee syphilis studies.
Today, the Henrietta Lacks Foundation exists to help individuals and families that have experienced similar injustices. After reading this book, I contributed to the foundation and have wanted to share information about her life and contributions to our world. I’m writing this letter so that your readers are aware of this historical event. More people should know about Henrietta Lacks, the woman, and not just the “HeLa cells” that were taken from her.
GRACE BURNETT
Concord