HeLa : the Case of the Undying Cancer
This is a wild intersection of cells that seem to keep dividing; the medical industry and a sprinkling of prejudice and bitter spirits. Here is what Wiki says of the case of Henrietta Lacks : Henrietta Lacks (August 18, 1920 – October 4, 1951) was the involuntary (and likely unknowing) donor of cells from her cancerous tumor , which were cultured by George Otto Gey to create an immortal cell line for medical research . This is now known as the HeLa cell line. On February 1 , 1951 , just days after a march for a cure for polio in New York City , according to Michael Rogers of the Detroit Free Press and Rolling Stone Magazine , Henrietta Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital because of a vaginal discharge. That day, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer . She was treated but died on October 4 , 1951 at the age of thirty-one. Mrs. Lacks was buried without a tombstone in a family cemetery in Lackstown. Henrietta Lacks has been recognized as an unintentional contributor to...