Discussion
  • Read More
    Mr.Noir, Liberal Hippie KingClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:02pm

    This was the woman whose biography was almost banned in an American school because a particularly prude mom didn't want her high school age kid reading about it right? Or am I thinking of someone else?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      ZabellaMr.Noir, Liberal Hippie King
      5/02/16 3:03pm

      The very same, I guess in parts of Tennessee cervical cancer is pornographic.

      http://jezebel.com/mother-says-bo...

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Mr.Noir, Liberal Hippie KingZabella
      5/02/16 3:05pm

      Ugh, thought so. Thank you!

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    HarvestMoonClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:04pm

    I read this book. An important thing to know about her particular cancer cells is that they behaved much differently than all other samples, which made them incredibly beneficial for research.

    The cells from Henrietta’s tumor were given to researcher George Gey, who “discovered that Henrietta’s cells did something they’d never seen before: They could be kept alive and grow.”Before this, cells cultured from other cells would only survive for a few days.

    Every medical researcher knows about or has worked with HeLa cells. It’s quite a legacy!

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      papasonarboogaHarvestMoon
      5/02/16 3:15pm

      yeah, I put this book alongside Under The Banner of Heaven as being so damn hard to read because each page makes you more and more angry.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Mr.Noir, Liberal Hippie KingHarvestMoon
      5/02/16 3:19pm

      I really need to commit to reading this book. Everyone I've talked to said pretty much the same exact thing you did. I know it'll probably infuriate me in parts but from what I understand she deserves to have her legacy honored.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Mr.Noir, Liberal Hippie KingClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:11pm

    It'll be cool to see Oprah act again after all this time. Especially in a role as juicy and historic as this. I haven't read the book yet but Lacks reputation certainly precedes her. I know Lady O did some VO work in Princess and The Frog, had small roles here and there, and was even rumored to play Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad (which would've been awesome) before Viola Davis (which WILL be awesome) was cast but it's definitely been awhile.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      schuretteMr.Noir, Liberal Hippie King
      5/02/16 3:25pm

      She was in the Butler. That's pretty recent no?

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Mr.Noir, Liberal Hippie Kingschurette
      5/02/16 3:26pm

      You're right, I completely forgot about The Butler. 2013 I think.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    NonServiam's GhostClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:06pm

    I understand and support the idea that everyone should have access to health care as a human right, so on that basis I want Henrietta Lacks’ descendants to have access to care. But I don’t understand the argument that they should have care on the basis that they were related to a person whose cancerous cells have been used in research. Perhaps the book makes a persuasive case for compensation? I haven’t heard it yet.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      MsMymlanNonServiam's Ghost
      5/02/16 3:12pm

      They used these cells without her consent and none of the profits went to her family. If they’d get a share of the cell sales they could afford healthcare.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      benjaminalloverNonServiam's Ghost
      5/02/16 3:16pm

      I thought Clover was just pointing out the irony of the situation. I don’t think that anyone is really arguing that they should have special access because of their important ancestor, just that it’s rather unjust that a) U.S. still doesn’t have universal health care and b) an industry that helped so many people left the family of the individual who made it all possible totally uncompensated.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    crankylittlephotonClover Hope
    5/02/16 6:52pm

    This will be buried since I’m very late to the party.

    Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer the same way many women still do. She was not denied care. She received the standard treatment at the time, but it wasn’t enough. Sometimes, it still isn’t. The concept of tissue banking did not even exist when those cells were harvested. Similarly, the concept of performing a repeat biopsy while the patient is undergoing treatment (to assess response) is not new. Repeat biopsies under anesthesia have been standard for decades for many cancers. It’s just that only recently these biopsies have required a new consent.

    Consents were also not required for tissue banking until recently. Even now, with informed consent, no compensation is offered. Thus, even with the most modern concept of medical ethics, the Lacks family would not be entitled to money. I will not argue for one minute that Lacks was treated at all times with respect, because that would have been pretty unlikely for a black lady at that time.

    But, most people do not seem to understand that the biopsies and tissue banking were absolutely routine, and remain so to this day, with the exception of the consent process. No one gets compensation for banking. After it leaves your body, it’s no longer your property. Right or wrong, that’s the way it is.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Ddhdcrankylittlephoton
      5/02/16 8:35pm

      thank you for posting this. I agree completely and could never have said it as eloquently.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Itshardbeingagirlcrankylittlephoton
      5/03/16 8:04am

      Thank you. So many pople here haven’t read the book, and don’t seem to have any understanding of what happened. The doctor at Johns Hopkins was not some villan in a lab coat waiting to take advantage of some poor, unsuspecting black woman. She received appropriate treatment at one of the best hospitals in the country. With a cancer as aggressive and advanced as hers, even a rich, “privileged” white lady would likely have died.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    CaliforlifeClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:05pm

    The Mother of healing and healthcare in America. She should be on money and there should be national monuments to her all over the land. That book is great, and sad.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Hoyo AfrikaCaliforlife
      5/02/16 3:14pm

      Please watch Adam Curtis’ The Way of All Flesh. It's on Youtube.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      CaliforlifeHoyo Afrika
      5/02/16 3:33pm

      Oh, okay - thanks!

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    RitaFantasticClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:03pm

    So...more people who are not the Lackses are going to make money off of Henrietta’s cells? I don’t take any issue with Skloot making some money, she actually interfaced with the family and wrote an amazing book. But Oprah is going to take home a wad of cash for playing a woman who (if I remember correctly) died somewhat young from living a life of poverty, while scientists (and not even the one who first cultured the cells) were making a LOT of money from HeLa.

    At least some of the family are involved in “consulting”, but Oprah is still going to make a lot more money than they are from this. Considering the themes of the book, there really is more irony here than in the Hunger Games make-up line...

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BurnThisAccount45RitaFantastic
      5/02/16 3:09pm

      If her son and grandchildren are assisting the screenwriter, I’m sure they’re getting paid, at least a as script consultants. Because it’s Oprah, she might even give them some sort of honorary producer credit.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ambitiousRitaFantastic
      5/02/16 3:11pm

      Why is it okay for the non-Lacks Skloot to make money telling the story in one medium, but not for those actualizing said story (including Skloot, who made money from the film rights) in another? There is labor and non-Lacks profit happening in both instances.

      Full disclosure: I know someone who worked on the book and am still incredibly uneasy about aspects of the research, storytelling and marketing around it.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    DalismoustacheClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:12pm

    Ms Lacks’ story is truly shocking.

    Her story inspired me in choosing my dissertation title, so it has a special place in my heart.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Hoyo AfrikaDalismoustache
      5/02/16 3:19pm

      What's even more unsettling to me how the medical industry doesn't get called out enough for the damage it has done to black/African people in the name of inquiry and "science".

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      SprozalaHoyo Afrika
      5/02/16 4:46pm

      In what way has the medical industry damaged black / African people? Even if you think Henrietta Lacks should have been compensated for her cells, the research done using them has improved the lives of millions of people of every race.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    BigBrunetteAndBeautifulClover Hope
    5/02/16 4:02pm

    I’m a science major at a Catholic liberal arts school. In order for us to be able to work with her cells, we have to have a week of classes dedicated to her life, informed consent, and the medical breakthroughs that happened because of her. At the time it was kind of tedious, but I understand that it was important for us to appreciate what amazing materials we were working with and what happened to her and her family so we didn’t take it for granted.

    Just one of the reasons why I love my education. Science sometimes needs to be punched in the face.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      DalismoustacheBigBrunetteAndBeautiful
      5/03/16 1:53am

      Jesuits?

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      BigBrunetteAndBeautifulDalismoustache
      5/13/16 2:17pm

      Nope, just a regular old Catholic school.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    ambitiousClover Hope
    5/02/16 3:16pm

    I wonder who will play Rebecca Skloot.

    Reply
    <