Friday, April 21, 2017
Biography Elsie Pleasant
I was born with neurosyphillis a disease which has left me with very harsh disabilities, I have a very hard time learning, I cannot hear and cannot speak and from time to time I have epileptic seizures. I am the oldest daughter of Henrietta and David lacks. I was sent to the crownsville hospital for the negro insane, with the diagnosis of "Idiocy". My mother was diagnosed with cancer and was sent into the hospital, they took samples from her tumor, and for some reason they say her cells are special, because they infinitely multiply, this also made her tumor horrible. The last time she saw me she was very sad, but happy to see me I guess. In my opinion my siblings should have gotten some payment or compensation for our mother, because she is special, but we are all poor and most of us are in deep poverty, which we were born into.
Tweets Elsie Pleasant
1. Born with neurosyphillis, a disease which will harm me for life.
2. Moved to crownsville hospital for the negro insane, no longer have my mom with me😢
3. Well, my mother now visits me every week, so I'm super happy about that
4. I feel like my mother is not doing well, she seems to be in a bad place...
5. My mother came to visit me today, she is looking horrible, hope she will live.
6. I have seizures as well, but that of my mother was as described by emmet "she was possessed by the devil of pain itself" (137)
7. My mother was really happy to see me today, much more than normal.
8. "What she didn't know was that no one would ever meet Elsie again" (135), this makes me sad.
9. I feel lonely, no one has come to see me in weeks.
10. Heard news that my mother has passed away, cancer is really serious. RIP
11. Heard that my mothers cells are used everywhere in the world for research, hopefully no one has to suffer from cancer again from this.
12. Wish we (Henrietta's children) had got some compensation for the use of all her cells.
13. Wish she could just come back, I miss her so much. She had such a giving heart, but no one gave back to her. - in response to Rebecca skloot's tweet "isn't it disappointing to see how Henrietta's family has been torn apart?"
14. Her "immoral" cells may save many lives in the world, and the research will make the immortal cells one of the most important discoveries. In reply to Rebecca skloot -"Henrietta's immortal cells should be called immoral cells"
15. Hungry is an understatement. We were starving and when She had to send me to the hospital, she could not keep us all anymore. In response to Henrietta lacks tweet -“Henrietta’s children grew up hungry” (Skloot, 283) It's hard to hear about what happened to my family after all this
16. My mother will never be forgotten. people.com/human-interest…
The tweets I made in the character of Lucille Elsie Pleasant, the daughter of Henrietta lacks, at first had little character. One of the challenges with this character and giving them a personality was that she had severe disabilities, such as problems learning, deafness, not being able to speak, and epilepsy. One problem I had when making tweets was that I had to speak in the tone of the character, but there was no tone as she does not say anything in the story since she cannot talk, this also made it very difficult to find quotes in the book so for the quoted tweets I found statements from other characters and responded to them in the tweet. Another problem was that my character was not very involved in the story and did not have explicitly stated opinions on her mother and what they are using her immortal cells for. When I responded to others, I had to try put myself in Elsie's shoes and come to my own conclusions on their opinion on Henrietta's cells, so when I replied to skloot I would have a ground to hold in my responses.
2. Moved to crownsville hospital for the negro insane, no longer have my mom with me😢
3. Well, my mother now visits me every week, so I'm super happy about that
4. I feel like my mother is not doing well, she seems to be in a bad place...
5. My mother came to visit me today, she is looking horrible, hope she will live.
6. I have seizures as well, but that of my mother was as described by emmet "she was possessed by the devil of pain itself" (137)
7. My mother was really happy to see me today, much more than normal.
8. "What she didn't know was that no one would ever meet Elsie again" (135), this makes me sad.
9. I feel lonely, no one has come to see me in weeks.
10. Heard news that my mother has passed away, cancer is really serious. RIP
11. Heard that my mothers cells are used everywhere in the world for research, hopefully no one has to suffer from cancer again from this.
12. Wish we (Henrietta's children) had got some compensation for the use of all her cells.
13. Wish she could just come back, I miss her so much. She had such a giving heart, but no one gave back to her. - in response to Rebecca skloot's tweet "isn't it disappointing to see how Henrietta's family has been torn apart?"
14. Her "immoral" cells may save many lives in the world, and the research will make the immortal cells one of the most important discoveries. In reply to Rebecca skloot -"Henrietta's immortal cells should be called immoral cells"
15. Hungry is an understatement. We were starving and when She had to send me to the hospital, she could not keep us all anymore. In response to Henrietta lacks tweet -“Henrietta’s children grew up hungry” (Skloot, 283) It's hard to hear about what happened to my family after all this
16. My mother will never be forgotten. people.com/human-interest…
The tweets I made in the character of Lucille Elsie Pleasant, the daughter of Henrietta lacks, at first had little character. One of the challenges with this character and giving them a personality was that she had severe disabilities, such as problems learning, deafness, not being able to speak, and epilepsy. One problem I had when making tweets was that I had to speak in the tone of the character, but there was no tone as she does not say anything in the story since she cannot talk, this also made it very difficult to find quotes in the book so for the quoted tweets I found statements from other characters and responded to them in the tweet. Another problem was that my character was not very involved in the story and did not have explicitly stated opinions on her mother and what they are using her immortal cells for. When I responded to others, I had to try put myself in Elsie's shoes and come to my own conclusions on their opinion on Henrietta's cells, so when I replied to skloot I would have a ground to hold in my responses.
Response to David Korn by Elsie lacks
“I think people are morally obligated to allow their bits and pieces to be used to advance knowledge to help others. Since everybody benefits, everybody can accept the small risks of having their tissue scraps used in research.” -David Korn
In my opinion this is not fair. A person is still a person and they have the right to keep their body in tact and not have its "bits and pieces" used. People should not be "morally obliged" to give their body parts away to science, even if it is for the better of a larger population. I think it's okay to allow researchers to use your parts to research on, however this has to be done with the consent of whomever they are taking it from. In certain cases like that of my mother, there is not reason why anyone should have taken her cells and tissue from her, since she did not know they were going to take any, nor were they're compensations made to anyone in the family, her excluded. Therefore I believe this statement to be false.
In my opinion this is not fair. A person is still a person and they have the right to keep their body in tact and not have its "bits and pieces" used. People should not be "morally obliged" to give their body parts away to science, even if it is for the better of a larger population. I think it's okay to allow researchers to use your parts to research on, however this has to be done with the consent of whomever they are taking it from. In certain cases like that of my mother, there is not reason why anyone should have taken her cells and tissue from her, since she did not know they were going to take any, nor were they're compensations made to anyone in the family, her excluded. Therefore I believe this statement to be false.
My name is Zakariyya Lacks, but I used to be called Joe. My mother is, or was, Henrietta Lacks, but everybody in science calls her HeLa. Mama's cells were stolen from her and used to do many amazing things, like cure cancer, because they just keep on living. Mama's cells never die. And scientists and the doctors down there at John's Hopkins have made tons of money off my mama's cells. They claim they haven't made any money, but I sure as hell don't believe it. Now all of us Lackes are very happy that HeLa has been able to help so many people, but why should her own kin be forced to live without any healthcare? Any kind of doctors? Living less than paycheck to paycheck and worse off than when she died? Everybody seem to be benefiting from Henrietta except us. Maybe people should allow science to use their "bits and pieces", but isn't the key word their allow? My mother never "allowed" them to take a part of her body. She was a poor black woman with cancer and no consent. Those cells belong to my mother and my family, our family. Why should we suffer when HeLa produces so much wealth? "Everybody benefits" he says. Wrong. Everybody but US. Some people are benefiting more than others financially. And that's not fair. Deborah's husband said, “Everybody’s received some compensation but them, and that was they MOTHER,” (432). Yes, use our human scraps for research, but ask first and make sure the people you're benefiting from aren't being left with none.
My family had been without answers for too long. While everybody was out there benefiting and making such scientific progress, the Lackes were kept in the dark. I didn't know hardly nothing until Miss Rebecca Skloot came and wrote her book. My sister said, "“The thing I care about is, you gotta find out what happened to my mother and my sister, cause I need to know," (Skloot 448). Isn't that wrong? That it took us 50 some odd years to learn about what happened to our mother, wife, sister, friend? All we wanted was to know the truth, but instead we were used by hundreds of reporters to sell stories of our information for money we'd never see. I'm not greedy, I'm not, but I just don't think it's unfair.
My family had been without answers for too long. While everybody was out there benefiting and making such scientific progress, the Lackes were kept in the dark. I didn't know hardly nothing until Miss Rebecca Skloot came and wrote her book. My sister said, "“The thing I care about is, you gotta find out what happened to my mother and my sister, cause I need to know," (Skloot 448). Isn't that wrong? That it took us 50 some odd years to learn about what happened to our mother, wife, sister, friend? All we wanted was to know the truth, but instead we were used by hundreds of reporters to sell stories of our information for money we'd never see. I'm not greedy, I'm not, but I just don't think it's unfair.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Dr. Geroge Gey Twitts
17) I am glad that Henrietta's "cells that were taken for cancer research 62 years ago without her knowledge and are now used in laboratories worldwide will no longer be free to use without her grandchildren's permission "
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html#ixzz4ekXBQsaD
Work Cited:
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway, 2017. Print.
"Geroge Gey", Marina Fishman, https://youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA, 02/28/16 "http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html, Youtube "woman's cells that were taken for cancer research 62 years ago without her knowledge and are now used in laboratories worldwide will no longer be free to use without her grandchildren's permission", Reuter Reporter, 08/07/2013,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html, dailymails .
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html#ixzz4ekXBQsaD
#NHSHerietta # Rights
16) #NHSHenrietta check it out, this YouTube video did some nice work about talking about my life. So impressed by that. (link: https://youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA) youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA
15) #RUMOR #NHSHenrietta Just like Rebecca said, I never ever made money off of HeLa! #HeLa
14) Thank you,my doctors for writing an article about the history of HeLa in order to pay my homage #NHSHenrietta and mentioned @HenriettaLacks3
13) #cancer Life will die, but knowledge won't. #NHSHenrietta #HeLa
12) #NHSHenrietta #lovelife @Margaret_Gey Dear, it is time to give credit to Henrietta. The respectful lay deserve that. #HeLa
11) #NHSHenrietta #cancersurvivor wanna be one of them and get back to work...
10) #NHSHenrietta Please, I beg you, my fellow colleagues, take the cells immortal from me as samples.
Response @Margaret_Gey
My dear, thank you so much for your effort.
Response to @marykubicekNHS
Thank you for still remebering me.
Response to @HenriettaLacks3
Do u feel better? I am Dr.Gey who visit u in hospital today. Hope u will feel better.
9) I told Henietta her cells were going to “help save the lives of countless people.” today. Let's bless this tough lady🙏🏻 @HenriettaLacks3#NHSHenrietta#cancer
8) Thankful for the TV show in Baltimore to give me a chance to give the audience an “overview of cell structure and cancer.”#NHSHenrietta
7) "Henrietta’s cells double in size every morning!!!!!!!!!" That's so impressing!!! Let's see how it will go.#NHSHenrietta
6) Just take a moment to enjoy my roller-tube culturing technique here. Bravo! #NHSHenrietta
5) 😕Oh god, my wife hired an woman again to clean the lab...is that because she is a surgical nurse? #nurselife
4) @marykubicekNHS please explain to me why you seems unenthusiastic today after I gave u Henrietta's cell.
3) GOT SOME FANTASTIC TISSUE from Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr today! Everything is on the right track.
2) “In 1943, a group of researchers had done so with mouse cell”！I definitely will start my hand on it. @richard_telinde#life
Response to @richard_telinde
Yah, sure. I will email you my free time, and you can come to my lab.
1) #NHSHenrietta Ultimate goal: to grow the first immortal human cells, ones which would divide forever.
Reflection:
Because there are not many saying from Gey that what he was thinking about, I add some personality on him. As the result, I turn him become a person who did not care about whether give the credit to Henrietta or not at first until a person who would like to share this honor with her. However, from the anger of Henrietta's family, I sincerely feel the importance of being ethically right. Every researcher or scientist are not only researcher or scientist, the most significantly, they are all human being. Therefore, taking others cell without getting the consent from them or crediting them will not only hurt their families feeling, but also betray the rule as a person. What my character did remind me the seriousness of doing citation. Sometimes, I will be too lazy to put all the citation, however, after reading this book, I realize that citation is a way you can show your respect and thanks to the author.
16) #NHSHenrietta check it out, this YouTube video did some nice work about talking about my life. So impressed by that. (link: https://youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA) youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA
15) #RUMOR #NHSHenrietta Just like Rebecca said, I never ever made money off of HeLa! #HeLa
14) Thank you,my doctors for writing an article about the history of HeLa in order to pay my homage #NHSHenrietta and mentioned @HenriettaLacks3
13) #cancer Life will die, but knowledge won't. #NHSHenrietta #HeLa
12) #NHSHenrietta #lovelife @Margaret_Gey Dear, it is time to give credit to Henrietta. The respectful lay deserve that. #HeLa
11) #NHSHenrietta #cancersurvivor wanna be one of them and get back to work...
10) #NHSHenrietta Please, I beg you, my fellow colleagues, take the cells immortal from me as samples.
Response @Margaret_Gey
My dear, thank you so much for your effort.
Response to @marykubicekNHS
Thank you for still remebering me.
Response to @HenriettaLacks3
Do u feel better? I am Dr.Gey who visit u in hospital today. Hope u will feel better.
9) I told Henietta her cells were going to “help save the lives of countless people.” today. Let's bless this tough lady🙏🏻 @HenriettaLacks3#NHSHenrietta#cancer
8) Thankful for the TV show in Baltimore to give me a chance to give the audience an “overview of cell structure and cancer.”#NHSHenrietta
7) "Henrietta’s cells double in size every morning!!!!!!!!!" That's so impressing!!! Let's see how it will go.#NHSHenrietta
6) Just take a moment to enjoy my roller-tube culturing technique here. Bravo! #NHSHenrietta
5) 😕Oh god, my wife hired an woman again to clean the lab...is that because she is a surgical nurse? #nurselife
4) @marykubicekNHS please explain to me why you seems unenthusiastic today after I gave u Henrietta's cell.
3) GOT SOME FANTASTIC TISSUE from Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr today! Everything is on the right track.
2) “In 1943, a group of researchers had done so with mouse cell”！I definitely will start my hand on it. @richard_telinde#life
Response to @richard_telinde
Yah, sure. I will email you my free time, and you can come to my lab.
1) #NHSHenrietta Ultimate goal: to grow the first immortal human cells, ones which would divide forever.
Reflection:
Because there are not many saying from Gey that what he was thinking about, I add some personality on him. As the result, I turn him become a person who did not care about whether give the credit to Henrietta or not at first until a person who would like to share this honor with her. However, from the anger of Henrietta's family, I sincerely feel the importance of being ethically right. Every researcher or scientist are not only researcher or scientist, the most significantly, they are all human being. Therefore, taking others cell without getting the consent from them or crediting them will not only hurt their families feeling, but also betray the rule as a person. What my character did remind me the seriousness of doing citation. Sometimes, I will be too lazy to put all the citation, however, after reading this book, I realize that citation is a way you can show your respect and thanks to the author.
Work Cited:
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway, 2017. Print.
"Geroge Gey", Marina Fishman, https://youtu.be/ch-PQAW1lHA, 02/28/16 "http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html, Youtube "woman's cells that were taken for cancer research 62 years ago without her knowledge and are now used in laboratories worldwide will no longer be free to use without her grandchildren's permission", Reuter Reporter, 08/07/2013,http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2386617/Henrietta-Lacks-Cells-taken-cancer-research-62-years-ago-longer-free-use-grandchildrens-permission.html, dailymails .
Deborah Lacks
Biography
Hi, I am Deborah Lacks. I am the only surviving daughter and the fourth child of Day and Henrietta. I had a horrible childhood experience because I was abused by her cousin Galen’s wife, Ethel. After my mom’s death, my nightmares continued after I moved to live with my brother Lawrence since Galen offends me continuously.
I do proud of my mom’s cells that have been greatly contributed to the field of medical science, resulting in major medical advances. For example, it is vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. However, I am so disappointed about the fact that her cells were taken without her consent. I did not know all the informations about my mom’s cells until I heard from Bobbette. She told our family that "Part of your mother, it's alive!" (450) We are all confused at that moment, but with excitement.
I believe that innumerable people’s cells are treated as my mother’s for doing research and getting some profits without their consent. But how can only my mom’s HeLa cases open to the public and get spread so fast in the world. Some people told me that it should be accounted for racial issues, since my mom are black farmer. However, I think that tell the truth about my mother is more important than that because it is really hard to hear truth around people nowadays, especially in medical field. Because lots of scientists want to make more profits. Sadly, at that time, “the cultures were shared freely, without compensation”(579) , so our family did not get any financial compensation from the HeLa cells.
I had a hard time with my stroke during the time that I am seeking the truth of my mom’s cells, which cause me to have anxiety. I know "All this stuff I'm learning,' she said, 'it make me realize that I did have a mother, and all the tragedy she went through. It hurts but I wanna know more, just like I wanna know about my sister. It make me feel closer to them, but I do miss them. I wish they were here." (727) It seems like I am a positive person, but my inner world are extremely vulnerable and negative. I just want to show people that I am a tough women who will never give up finding the truth f my mom’s cells. That’s how determined I am.
Tweet
1.What? My mom’s cells are still alive? What on earth her cells had done for science? #NHSHenrietta #LivingCell#Life Science#ScienceResearch
2.I am still alive! Big thanks to my grandson Davon for smacking me while I am having a stroke.#NHSHenrietta#Stroke#Gratitude
3.What’s the real benefits from my mother’s cell? Helping people or for other profits?#NHSHenrietta
4.How can Hopkins's physicians do research on my mom’s cells without my family’s permission?#NHSHenrietta #theDeclarationofHelsinki #ethics
5.How many more people’s cells are treated as my mother’s #NHSHenrietta #consent #woe
6.It’s impossible for me to donate my mother’s bible. That’s the only thing I have from her.#NHSHenrietta
7.Are you kidding me? “The Supreme Court... removed, with or without consent, a person no longer owns those tissues.”(836)#NHSHenrietta #ethic
8.The first line of human immortal cells http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-immortal-cells-of-henrietta-lacks-robin-bulleri … #NHSHenrietta
9.I still wondering “Who gave my mother medical records to a reporter?” Why is it so hard to figure it out?#NHSHenrietta
10.Writing the truth about my mother is more important than racial issues. #NHSHenrietta #morality #racism
11.I cannot believe that my mom's cells are so beneficial!!!#NHSHenrietta
Five ways Henrietta Lacks changed medical science http://bit.ly/2ouYurE
Image of stained HeLa cells
12.Researchers should really reflect on the ethics behind my mother's story.#NHSHenrietta
Below are the Trailer of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks from HBO!
(Henrietta Lacks' cells led to many important breakthroughs in biomedical research.
However, ethics laws were..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jxEX1XQpY)
13.That’s how HeLa cells look like.#NHSHenrietta
#HeLaCells have been used in the study of haemophilia! Henrietta Lacks continues to live on, thank God for the Lacks family. Image from Wiki.
Cultured HeLa Cells
14.Hope my brothers can always think positively. “If you gonna go into history, you can’t do it with a hate attitude.”(701)#NHSHenrietta
15. @LacksSonnyYeah, I remember that period with our eldest brother. I don't know what happened to our mother. She seemed to be gone forever.#NHSHenrietta
16.@LacksSonnyBrother, I know how you feel about HeLa. This was not what I’d expected as well. Things are getting too complicated now.#NHSHenrietta #HeLa
17. @r_sklootYeah, that's what I always tell to my brothers. We have to hold a positive attitude though we never forget about our mother.#NHSHenrietta
18.We want compensation for our mom’s cells#NHSHenrietta
Articles are attached: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/henrietta-lackss-family-wants-compensation-for-her-cells/2017/02/14/816481ba-f302-11e6-b9c9-e83fce42fb61_story.html?utm_term=.d3e147679580
Reflection on Tweet
I tried to present the true character of Deborah Lacks, who cares a lot about her mother and never give up discovering her mom’s life throughout my tweets. As you can see, my tweets show the discovery of HeLa, ethics behind the cells, informed consent and racism. In addition, it shows Deborah always wants to know more about her mother and the truth of her mother. I replied to my character’s brother and the author’s tweet to show the complexity of Henrietta’s story as well as being a positive person. I intentionally added some images about HeLa, video clips of the general view of the story and an article about compensation for immoral behaviours.
Questions:
What’s your point view toward the arguments against giving people legal ownership of their tissues?
I do not agree with the quote from David Korn, vice provost for research at Harvard University. Though donating either your cells or organs will greatly benefit both patients and researchers, without getting consent from people themselves or their family members will result in violating people’s own freewill, the ability to choose what they want to do. In this case, people’s rights are offended instead of being protected. My mom’s story can be a great example for that. If we do not give people legal ownership of their tissues, who knows what will happen to their tissues? Water are too deep nowadays, people try to hide their real actions and purposes in front of public for getting more profits. Yet, they should really reflect on themselves whether their behaviour is ethical or not. All those phenomenons can be explained by the the corruption of government nowadays because they all want to maximize profits through shortcuts. Sadly, they forget to care about our feelings as citizens. There are some ways to change the case. Government should try to promote more incentives on all the citizens, like increasing poor people’s living standard and try to provide them free health care if they reach an agreement for donation. Thus, they will know that donate their own cells or organs after they die will greatly contribute to science research project, saving many people’s lives as well as gaining personally benefits from government. In this case, it will be a win-win relationship. Government should really take some actions on the policy to improve country as whole.
Work Cited
HBO. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Official Trailer (HBO)." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Image "HeLa." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
McDaniels, Andrea K. "Henrietta Lacks's Family Wants Compensation for Her Cells." The Washington Post. WP Company, 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Samuel, Leah, and Stat. "5 Ways Henrietta Lacks Changed Medical Science." Scientific American. © 2017 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, A DIVISION OF NATURE AMERICA, INC. 14 Apr. 2017. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway, 2017. Print.
Dr. Geroge Gey 2017 biography
Hi everyone, my name is George Gey, Hopkins’ head of tissue culture research. I was raised in Pittsburgh, where my family lived in poverty. Using this process, Gey, along with his mentor Warren Lewis, was able to film the incredibly slow process of cell growth. My wife's name is Margaret Gey. She is a nurse, and my colleague as well. "Margaret was cautious and stable, the backbone of the lab,". I had been attempting to grow cancer cells outside the human body since I became a scientist. The purpose of that is to determine cancer’s cause and find a cure. My ultimate goal was to grow the first immortal human cells, ones which would divide forever.
Therefore, I decided to make a deal with TeLinde: He would provide me with cervical cancer tissue, and I response for attempting to grow it. Although I made a deal wi him, I was still unconfident towards the experiment, since in all the previous history, scientists did not know what exactly cells needed to survive, or how to supply them with those nutrients.
I worked in Hopkins’basement, and employed a lab assistant who named Mary Kubicek, a young smart lady, to sleep by the camera at night to ensure that it was remaining stable. Using this process, I was able to film the incredibly slow process of cell growth.
Interestingly, because of the problem of contamination, Because Bacteria and multiple other microorganisms exist everywhere, my wife, Margaret, had become obsessed with cleanliness-she even hired a woman who named Minnie to clean the glassware used in the lab-.
Life will never betray those people who puts efforts on their work. Two days after Henrietta's cells were sent to my home, when Mary checks on Henrietta’s cells, she founds out that small cell growths at the bottom of each tube. In one the following morning, when I walked in the laboratory, while Mary was crushing towards me, she was shouting as the same time:" '"Henrietta’s cells double in size every morning' !" I told Mary keep putting her eyes on it, because those cells could die at any time. Surprisingly, they didn't.
I was so excited about that, so i made a announcement about my lab may have created the world’s first immortal human cell line.
Since sharing is the best way to spread knowledge, at the same time, is a stimulation of development, I sent the samples to every scientist who wanted them for cancer research for free.
As more scientist receive the cell sample, I start to question myself: should I credit Henrietta or no. This had been a huge question around my mind each time when I walked in my laboratory and looked at those fast-growing samples.
On one hand, immortal cells has been a distasteful, and even largely ignored area, so it didn't matter if I credit her or not. No one will notice that. But from the morally ethical side, it is immortal to take one's cell and take advantage from it. However, if I didn't do that, it will not hurt me. Henrietta probably was going to be happy when she hear from me that thousand of life would be saved by her contribution. I convinced myself.
Although I had decided not to give credit to her, I just felt guilty when I saw them. Finally, I decided to hold her name back firstly.
Years after, Henrietta was sick again; I even heard from my wife that her neighbors even could hear her cries from a block away by the pain. Therefore, she got sent to my hospital on August 8th. What a great chance to start my research again! So I ordered the doctor to take more cells from her cervix. Unfortunately, according to the result I got from her cervix cell, since her body got polluted by the toxins, her cells dead almost immediately. No matter how much painkiller we gave to her, they didn't work. As the result, I went to visit this poor but tough lady. My colleagues, Laure Aurelian , went to visit her as well. I standed in front of her bed, sit down ver slowly, and picked up her hand. I could tell by her eyes that she was suffering, but tough as her, she didn't complain about anything. I felt very guilty about my decision of didn't give credit to her, so I moved my sight to those medicine bottles next to her bed. I asked myself seriously: shouldn't this strong lady deserve the credit? The answer was firm: Yes. But I probably should not put that out right now, since there is going to too much rumors going on, thus I can not focus on my research. I stand up again, gently put her delicate hand back in the quilt, looked at her into her eyes, and said:" you cells were going to 'help save the lives of countless people' ". After saying that sentence, I had no courage to look at her reaction, and walked, more detail, escaped from her room.
Months later, I sadly heard the new of her death. I knew this is my last chance to do the reserch on her, so I asked the doctor if they can perform an autopsy to see if other cells in her body will grow like HeLa. By the agreement from Day, they were able to do so. While we were gathering sample, I skimmed Mary was looking at her red toenail, and then, her facial expression became very weird, but I didn't know why.
There were years after I did my first experiment, many of my fellow colleagues asked me to publish my paper, so I can get credit from it. But I didn't want to. I always told them that I was too busy, however, the guilt from my heart stopped me by getting all of the credit. After prodding from Mary and my wife, I finally decided to wrote a short abstract but not a long paper. Subsequently, my wife began to simply writing and submitting my work for me. Although I told her I did not want to and I did not deserve all the credit, she always told me that the early I published those paper, the earlier human being can solve the question of cancer. I didn't have anything to say about her response.
In the end, I became the people who suffered by the cancer. That was the most difficult period of time I had ever had in my life. The endless pain and the countless medicines dragged me crazy. The only I want was to get back to my lab and continue my research. However, I could not. So I asked my college to take my cells as samples, but they refused me.
I could not really remember what happened afterwards. The only thing I remembered was the pain crush towards me. Finally, I felt like every single second could be my last moment in this world. I have so many things haven't done yet; I have so many regrets that want to correct them. So in the end of my life, what actually something I can do as a scientist, or human being? I asked my wife came to my bed, and told her that after I died, credited Henrietta as the contributor of the HeLa cells, so she and her family would be happy to see that, and that is the only thing I could do.
Life will end, but science will stay forever.
The End.
Therefore, I decided to make a deal with TeLinde: He would provide me with cervical cancer tissue, and I response for attempting to grow it. Although I made a deal wi him, I was still unconfident towards the experiment, since in all the previous history, scientists did not know what exactly cells needed to survive, or how to supply them with those nutrients.
I worked in Hopkins’basement, and employed a lab assistant who named Mary Kubicek, a young smart lady, to sleep by the camera at night to ensure that it was remaining stable. Using this process, I was able to film the incredibly slow process of cell growth.
Interestingly, because of the problem of contamination, Because Bacteria and multiple other microorganisms exist everywhere, my wife, Margaret, had become obsessed with cleanliness-she even hired a woman who named Minnie to clean the glassware used in the lab-.
Life will never betray those people who puts efforts on their work. Two days after Henrietta's cells were sent to my home, when Mary checks on Henrietta’s cells, she founds out that small cell growths at the bottom of each tube. In one the following morning, when I walked in the laboratory, while Mary was crushing towards me, she was shouting as the same time:" '"Henrietta’s cells double in size every morning' !" I told Mary keep putting her eyes on it, because those cells could die at any time. Surprisingly, they didn't.
I was so excited about that, so i made a announcement about my lab may have created the world’s first immortal human cell line.
Since sharing is the best way to spread knowledge, at the same time, is a stimulation of development, I sent the samples to every scientist who wanted them for cancer research for free.
As more scientist receive the cell sample, I start to question myself: should I credit Henrietta or no. This had been a huge question around my mind each time when I walked in my laboratory and looked at those fast-growing samples.
On one hand, immortal cells has been a distasteful, and even largely ignored area, so it didn't matter if I credit her or not. No one will notice that. But from the morally ethical side, it is immortal to take one's cell and take advantage from it. However, if I didn't do that, it will not hurt me. Henrietta probably was going to be happy when she hear from me that thousand of life would be saved by her contribution. I convinced myself.
Although I had decided not to give credit to her, I just felt guilty when I saw them. Finally, I decided to hold her name back firstly.
Years after, Henrietta was sick again; I even heard from my wife that her neighbors even could hear her cries from a block away by the pain. Therefore, she got sent to my hospital on August 8th. What a great chance to start my research again! So I ordered the doctor to take more cells from her cervix. Unfortunately, according to the result I got from her cervix cell, since her body got polluted by the toxins, her cells dead almost immediately. No matter how much painkiller we gave to her, they didn't work. As the result, I went to visit this poor but tough lady. My colleagues, Laure Aurelian , went to visit her as well. I standed in front of her bed, sit down ver slowly, and picked up her hand. I could tell by her eyes that she was suffering, but tough as her, she didn't complain about anything. I felt very guilty about my decision of didn't give credit to her, so I moved my sight to those medicine bottles next to her bed. I asked myself seriously: shouldn't this strong lady deserve the credit? The answer was firm: Yes. But I probably should not put that out right now, since there is going to too much rumors going on, thus I can not focus on my research. I stand up again, gently put her delicate hand back in the quilt, looked at her into her eyes, and said:" you cells were going to 'help save the lives of countless people' ". After saying that sentence, I had no courage to look at her reaction, and walked, more detail, escaped from her room.
Months later, I sadly heard the new of her death. I knew this is my last chance to do the reserch on her, so I asked the doctor if they can perform an autopsy to see if other cells in her body will grow like HeLa. By the agreement from Day, they were able to do so. While we were gathering sample, I skimmed Mary was looking at her red toenail, and then, her facial expression became very weird, but I didn't know why.
There were years after I did my first experiment, many of my fellow colleagues asked me to publish my paper, so I can get credit from it. But I didn't want to. I always told them that I was too busy, however, the guilt from my heart stopped me by getting all of the credit. After prodding from Mary and my wife, I finally decided to wrote a short abstract but not a long paper. Subsequently, my wife began to simply writing and submitting my work for me. Although I told her I did not want to and I did not deserve all the credit, she always told me that the early I published those paper, the earlier human being can solve the question of cancer. I didn't have anything to say about her response.
In the end, I became the people who suffered by the cancer. That was the most difficult period of time I had ever had in my life. The endless pain and the countless medicines dragged me crazy. The only I want was to get back to my lab and continue my research. However, I could not. So I asked my college to take my cells as samples, but they refused me.
I could not really remember what happened afterwards. The only thing I remembered was the pain crush towards me. Finally, I felt like every single second could be my last moment in this world. I have so many things haven't done yet; I have so many regrets that want to correct them. So in the end of my life, what actually something I can do as a scientist, or human being? I asked my wife came to my bed, and told her that after I died, credited Henrietta as the contributor of the HeLa cells, so she and her family would be happy to see that, and that is the only thing I could do.
Life will end, but science will stay forever.
The End.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield one day called Deborah and tried to convince her that it was time to sue for the family's cut of all money. He said that he can help without charging any money, therefore Lacks' men were happy about it. He said he believed "Hopkins was guilty of medical malpractice". He pretended to be a lawyer and a doctor. He was Deborah's distant relative "the cousin of Deborah's husband's former step-daughter, or somethings like that". Cofield spent many years in prison for fraud, where he took law courses "what one judge called frivolous lawsuits". He has sued McDonald's, Burger King, Four seasons for different reasons. Even though he wasn't an actual lawyer, he still went to the Hopkins to find information about Henrietta. Hopkins stuff figured out what Cofield was doing and made Deborah to sigh the document denying his access to Henrietta medical records. Cofield threatened to sue not only the Hopkins stuff but also the Lacks' family.
Tweets:
I believe Lacks family must get all the money earned by Henrietta's cells since the fifties. This would be fair. #NHShenrietta #justice
Hopkins is definitely guilty of medical malpractice... We can't just leave it like this! #NHShenrietta
Replying to @marykubicekNHS and @Margaret_Gey I am going to sue to get money for the family back!
Replying to @lawerencelacks this is really unfair but we won't give up! #NHShenrietta
Replying to @lacks_deborah copyright is a very important thing. But don't worry I will explain you everything #NHSHenrietta
Spent a week looking through the medical school's archives... Now I know what happened to Henrietta #NHSHenrietta
Doctors at Hopkins are horrible. Some don't have license, some were expelled from American Medical Association...#NHSHenriett
Henrietta diagnosis wasn't right, it is all a mistake! #NHSHenrietta
Not going to be surprised if doctors actually killed poor Henrietta. Probably she had an overdose of radiation #NHSHenrietta
I really had to sue that fancy four seasons restaurant, I had a food poisoning!!!#NHSHenrietta
I have sued Mc Donald's and burgers king, so I will be successful with Henrietta's case as well nothing can stop me!!! #NHSHenrietta
While I was in jail I have taken law courses, so I know a lot now, especially about "frivolous" lawsuits #NHSHenrietta
I called a governor of Alabama from jail to tell him that I am going to murder him? Are you sure? #NHSHenrietta
Lacks family has no right to Henretta's records. She was born with a different name. #NHSHenrietta
I will sue Lack's family! I will sue Courtney Speed! I will sue people at Hopkins! #NHSHenrietta
I am a lawyer and doctor. I know what I am doing. I will sue u! #NHSHenrietta
Reflection:
My tweets are pretty aggressive and overall I tried to threaten someone. I am planning on sueing everyone for everything. I keep lying in my tweets, so the truth doesn't become evident. Some people replied to my tweets in order to support me with my case. Moreover, my tweets are in chronological order, however, some of them have references to my past. I am showing my character as an emotional, slightly insane and obsessed person.
Quote position:
Doctors can't just take my cells and do whatever they want with them, this is against any principles, therefore I will sue them. Most likely they are guilty of medical malpractice, or don't have licenses or aren't even doctors. At least people must get paid, if the doctors want to take their cells. People need to protect themselves from doctors and their experiments. At least we can always sue them.
Tweets:
I believe Lacks family must get all the money earned by Henrietta's cells since the fifties. This would be fair. #NHShenrietta #justice
Hopkins is definitely guilty of medical malpractice... We can't just leave it like this! #NHShenrietta
Replying to @marykubicekNHS and @Margaret_Gey I am going to sue to get money for the family back!
Replying to @lawerencelacks this is really unfair but we won't give up! #NHShenrietta
Replying to @lacks_deborah copyright is a very important thing. But don't worry I will explain you everything #NHSHenrietta
Spent a week looking through the medical school's archives... Now I know what happened to Henrietta #NHSHenrietta
Doctors at Hopkins are horrible. Some don't have license, some were expelled from American Medical Association...#NHSHenriett
Henrietta diagnosis wasn't right, it is all a mistake! #NHSHenrietta
Not going to be surprised if doctors actually killed poor Henrietta. Probably she had an overdose of radiation #NHSHenrietta
I really had to sue that fancy four seasons restaurant, I had a food poisoning!!!#NHSHenrietta
I have sued Mc Donald's and burgers king, so I will be successful with Henrietta's case as well nothing can stop me!!! #NHSHenrietta
While I was in jail I have taken law courses, so I know a lot now, especially about "frivolous" lawsuits #NHSHenrietta
I called a governor of Alabama from jail to tell him that I am going to murder him? Are you sure? #NHSHenrietta
Lacks family has no right to Henretta's records. She was born with a different name. #NHSHenrietta
I will sue Lack's family! I will sue Courtney Speed! I will sue people at Hopkins! #NHSHenrietta
I am a lawyer and doctor. I know what I am doing. I will sue u! #NHSHenrietta
Reflection:
My tweets are pretty aggressive and overall I tried to threaten someone. I am planning on sueing everyone for everything. I keep lying in my tweets, so the truth doesn't become evident. Some people replied to my tweets in order to support me with my case. Moreover, my tweets are in chronological order, however, some of them have references to my past. I am showing my character as an emotional, slightly insane and obsessed person.
Quote position:
Doctors can't just take my cells and do whatever they want with them, this is against any principles, therefore I will sue them. Most likely they are guilty of medical malpractice, or don't have licenses or aren't even doctors. At least people must get paid, if the doctors want to take their cells. People need to protect themselves from doctors and their experiments. At least we can always sue them.
Margaret Gey 2017
Margaret Gey was a scientist and researcher focusing at the time of the book on growing cells. She and her husband Geroge Gey both worked in their lab together though they performed different tasks, "Margaret was cautious and stable, the backbone of the lab," (Skloot 99) while her husband was "an enormous, mischievous, grown-up kid," (Skloot 99) they both were however, innovative and thorough. "Margaret had been trained as a surgical nurse, which meant sterility was her specialty," (Skloot 94) she was the one who was able to maintain the environment of the lab and make sure that no other cells other cells were able to interfere with those of the culture. She taught George the techniques for keeping a totally sterile lab and it was this that was critical to the success of their experiment. She was a pleasant, hardworking person especially in the lab where she "patrolled the lab, arms crossed... if (she) ever smiled, no one could have seen it through her ever-present surgical mask, (Skloot 95). She is a very sensible and thrifty person, for example, she painted the lab herself as theu did not have the money, and she thinks that people should do things for themselves instead of paying other people always to do things you can do yourself.
Tweets
1.) I am cautious but excited about our recent success. It seems we have created the first immortal cells#NHSHenrietta #HeLa
2.) All the surviving cells are labeled HeLa, they are the cells that can survive anything. I wonder what more we can learn#NHSHenrietta
1.) I am cautious but excited about our recent success. It seems we have created the first immortal cells
2.) All the surviving cells are labeled HeLa, they are the cells that can survive anything. I wonder what more we can learn
3.) The cells keeping multiplying at an almost constant pace, but George and I are still cautious. It could still fail #NHSHenrietta #Multiply
4.) Our assistant Mary has posted about an abstract that I published from George's writings. Thought I should promote it here too #nhshenrietta
5.) Just spent the day going over sanitary precautions for the lab while Mary and George worked together. Work here is never done #nhshenrietta
6.) Due to the ever growing critisizum over our work, I would like to say that we did this for science and discovery #nhshentietta #progress
7.) Some fellow scientists asked for a sample of the #HeLa cells as they have been doing so well. I'm excited to see what they do #nhshenrietta
8.) A man named Rogers called about HeLa, I would appreciate people's respect on this topic, as I do not wish to discuss it #nhshenrietta
9.) Some people have come up with the name Helen Lane, I do not know why. This is purely a mistake as no name was to be revealed #nhshenrietta
10.) A rumor seems to have spread that Helen Lane is George's creation, I really don't know where that information came from #nhshenrietta
11.) It seems new things are being done everyday with #hela cells, I wonder what will come next #new #advancement #nhshenrietta
12.) Throughout the controversy, I am still glad to have been a part of the important discovery and the #HeLa experiment #science #nhshenrietta
13.) I'm glad to hear that you take my procedures seriously. I hope you know that it;s necessary for the success of out experiments #nhshenrietta
14.) We have seen this type of thing fail before. We do however see that these do seem to be doing well, we just have to wait #nhshenrietta
15.) We hope that the #cells will help you and many other scientists in the future #nhshenrietta #science #cooperation
My tweets have an overall positive themes. Like my character in real life, I can cautious about any success and generally not too overexcited. I talked about scientific cooperation and what was happening. The only negative parts were when other people bothered her about the event, because as a lead scientist she was much criticized about her role in the whole discovery. No one as far as I know responded to any of my tweets, However, the person who had my assistant Mary did mention me and I did reply to her however as her point reflected things i wanted to say.
Quote Position:
I believe that as a scientist I know the need for everyone to see the importance of sharing. When we experiment we provide new insights and knowledge to the entire community. In this way people should be fine with sharing a little of themselves to see this important work take place. A sort of small sacrifice for the good of many, and sacrifice may be too harsh of a word to use at all. For we take only samples, small bits of blood or tissue, usually something that the person will never miss. Then when we take human cells and work with them in my lab, we treat them with respect and make sure not to waste any samples or tissue. We sterilize ourselves and our spaces making sure that everything is how it should be. As it is very important for my personal research and work I do support the use of human tissues. I think that other people should know and recognize the importance of scientific research and advancement.
Mary Kubicek Tweets
Throughout the tweets, I aimed to portray Mary Kubicek as an eager, young, qualified scientist who was lucky enough to be involved with such a groundbreaking scientific breakthrough. I tried to show her excitement with the scientific process alongside her being fairly impartial to the ethical controversy surrounding the lab activities.
Sonny Lacks, bibliography, tweets and reflections
My name is Sonny Lacks. I am the second son of Henrietta Lacks and I have other four siblings(one dead). My dad and my mom were cousins and were raised by Tommy Lacks. I was raised first by Ethel and then by my big brother Lawrence. I joined Air Force and was discharged honorable. My mom died when I was four years old and I couldn't remember all the details about her cancer and funeral. However, the widespread of HeLa cells remind me all the time of who is my mom and what are HeLa cells. There are still many people talking about my mom and it is because people are arguing about whether or not it is wrong not giving credits for my mom when selling her cells.
There are a lot of arguments against giving people legal ownership of their tissues and one of them is from David Korn, vice provost of research at Harvard University. “I think people are morally obligated to allow their bits and pieces to be used to advance knowledge to help others. Since everybody benefits, everybody can accept the small risks of having their tissue scraps used in research.” I totally disagree with David Korn and I believe people deserve the rights to keep their cells or receive credits when cells are used.
First of all, it is not true that everybody is benefiting. My mom’s cells have been making a lot of money but I couldn't even afford a bypass surgery.My older brother Lawrence said once:”She ’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty”(Skloot 420). All the members in lacks family couldn't afford insurances. People from lacks town didn't prosper even it is the hometown of Henrietta Lacks. People barely know anything about HeLa cells in Lacks town. Therefore, it is not true that everybody benefits.
Second of all, taking tissue scraps is risky under certain situations. Dr.Geroge Gey asked doctors to take his tissue scraps out when he was diagnosed with cancer. However, the doctors found it difficult to take samples of cells from his organs because his organs might be damaged causing death. Therefore, taking tissue scraps isn't safe at all times.
Third of all, it is possible that doctors don't ask for consent to take tissues or doctors don't give credits to the originator of cells. This happened to my mom and it influenced my life. The doctors at John Hopkins hospital didn't have My father’s permission to keep HeLa cells. My mother’s name wasn't known even after HeLa cells were widespread. The actions of not crediting my mom upset me and my families. “John Hopkin didn't give us no information about anything. That was the bad part. Not the sad part,but the bad part, cause I don't know if they didn't give us information because they was making money out of it, or if they was just wanting to keep us in the dark about it. I think they made money out of it, cause they were selling her cells all over the world and shipping them for dollars”(Skloot 420).The reasons behind the poverty of the Lacks families are due to facts that Dr.Gey didn't tell Lacks families or anyone else about HeLa cells. There are other black families or white families like us whose tissues were taken without consent. Nuremberg code should be passed as a law to protect human rights.
In conclusion, these are the three reasons I disagree with people should be obligated to donate tissues.
Below are the tweets:
I am Sonny lacks.I didn't know anything about Hela cells until I received a call from Rebecca Skloot.#NHSHenrietta
My mom was diagnosed as Epidermoid Caecinoma.https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms?cdrid=46419 … #NHSHenrietta
My mom died at age of 31 and I can tell she was in a lot of pain both mentally and physically when she had treatments. #NHSHenrietta
After the death of mom, John Hopkins hospital performed something I didn't know. I know now her cells were taken after death. #NHSHenrietta
#NHSHenrietta My sister Deborah and I moved to my cousin's( whose name is Ethel) house. We live with her husband Galen also.
“Henrietta’s children grew up hungry. Every morning Ethel fed them each a cold biscuit that had to last them until dinner”(288)
#NHSHenrietta I wasn't treated well and I still remember that I was abused by Ethel. Ethel seemed to hate my mom.
#NHSHenrietta I noticed Deborah was sexually abused by Galen but we got help from my older brother Lawrence and his wife.
Lawrence and his wife took care of me and Deborah after they found out how bad we were treated. #NHSHenrietta
I seemed to have difficulty hearing since I went to school but I never told my teachers. My siblings seem to have that too.#NHSHenrietta
#NHSHenrietta I don't know why I have genetic disorders but people say it is because my parents are cousins.
I joined the Air Force after graduated from high school. #NHSHenrietta
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
I received a call on day from Joe because he was accused for killing Ivy. I was honorably discharged meanwhile. #NHSHenrietta
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
#NHSHenrietta when I want to know more about my mom and Hela cell. Rebecca Skloot asked me to meet with her after mom died for decades.
#NHSHenrietta I refused to meet with Skloot or put her in touch with anyone. But,one day,I told Skloot I can take her to meet Lawrence.
Skloot came to the grocery store that belongs to my brother Lawrence and we started talk about my mom. #NHSHenrietta
0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
#NHSHenrietta Me and Lawrence expressed madness towards the use of Hela cells after we got to know how important they are.
#NHSHenrietta my dad Day accused John Hopkins hospital because he didn't give consent to keep her cells.
0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
#NHSHenrietta http://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/990/baltimore.html … John Hopkins hospitals is a dangerous place for black people. It is a news related with this topic.
#NHSHenrietta John Hopkins hospital labeled "colored" on test tubes when patients were black.It is a sign of prejudice and my mom suffered.
0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
#NHSHenrietta After hearing more about Hela cells from Skloot, me and Lawrence decided to make handouts abou my mom to distribute.
#NHSHenrietta All I have been doing after the widespread of Hela cells are trying to get money back from the Hopkins hospital.
#NHSHenrietta Scientists all over the world didn't credit my mom. On the other hand, her cells helped black scientists and researchers.
#NHSHenrietta I couldn't tell you how I feel with Hela cells. It brought pain for my mom but happiness for everyone in the world.
#NHSHenrietta If Hela cells make so much money, the Lacks family don't have the money to buy insurances. Why?
#NHSHenrietta why was the Lacks family not known for so long? Not everyone in lacks town know anything.
#NHSHenriettamy mom was thought to be Helen Lane at first because no one knows her real name and that is why no one knows the lacks family.
#NHSHenriettamy I did a bypass surgery and I am in debt. I don't have money to pay for a surgery even though my mom contributed Hela cells.
#NHSHenriettamy Maybe I am happy with Hela cells now because they have helped so much people.
#NHSHenrietta every person should know what mom's pain has brought to the world:the chances to survive.She deserves recognition and frames.
#NHSHenrietta http://themilitarywallet.com/types-of-military-discharges/ …
Still remember the day I was honorably discharged. Mom must be so proud of me!
#NHSHenrietta http://www.nbcnews.com/health/nih-finally-makes-good-henrietta-lacks-family-its-about-time-6C10867941 … After waiting for 62 years, my mom was known by more and more people. Thank@r_skloot for this!
“John Hopkin didn't give us no information about anything. That was the bad part. Not the sad part,but the bad part, cause I don't know if they didn't give us information because they was making money out of it, or if they was just wanting to keep us in the dark about it. I think they made money out of it, cause they were selling her cells all over the world and shipping them for dollars”(Skloot 420).
“But the history of Hopkins Hospital certainly isn’t pristine when it comes to black patients.”(418) #NHSHenrietta
Reflections:
The trend I saw in my tweets is that I was angry about not getting money for my mom’s cells but as I understand more, I forgave the doctors and the world. At first, I introduced myself and something about my mom. I didn't know anything about my mom and how painful she was until after others told me. After knowing more about HeLa cells through Skloot and internet, I was angry and felt unfair for my mom for not receiving credits. I blamed the doctors and the hospital for not gaining consent from my mom before taking her cells. At the end, I know how much HeLa cells have contributed to everyone in the world and I am glad about this. As long as people are healthy and happy now, I believe my mom would be happy. I specially want to thank Skloot for publishing her book and more and more people know my mom now. Now I am a peaceful and thankful person towards the world and my mom.
Work Cited
Skloot,Rebeccca, “The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Broadway Books,2011-03-08, IBooks,16/04/2017.
N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/news/images/lacks2.jpg>.18/04/2017
N.p., n.d. Web. <https://nihdirectorsblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/hela-ii.jpg>.18/04/2017
Richard Wesley TeLinde
Narrative
Richard Wesley TeLinde, “one of the top cervical cancer experts in the country”(Chapter 3, 97), devoted his life to support his claim that “carcinoma in situ was simply an early stage of invasive carcinoma that, if left untreated, eventually because deadly”(Chapter 3, 99).
Carcinoma in Situ
If he would be able to prove his claim, many women that suffered from cervical cancer would be benefited and received the right treatments. In order to prove that “carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma looked and behaved similarly in the laboratory”(Chapter 3, 103), TeLinde reached out to George Gey and offer Henrietta’s cervical cells in exchange for living samples of cervical tissues.
HeLa cell
However, TeLinde took Henrietta’s cells without informing and sent it to George Grey, while George Gray’s assistant Mary found HeLa’s cells ability of being “immortal”.
the Division of HeLa Cells
After HeLa cells spread around the world, people finally found out the how Henrietta’s cell were collected and started to criticize John Hopkins hospital’s behavior of utilizing Henrietta’s cells without informing her and not sharing the profits with her family. Richard Telinde’s viewpoint was that it is legal for him to collect samples from Henrietta without her consent since it was regarded as a payback for the hospital services, and he had also done this to several other patients. Not sharing the profits of HeLa cell Line was also legal according to the laws.
Tweets
1.#CarcinomaInSitu might be the #earlystage of #invasiveCarcinoma and should receive #aggressiveTreatments
2. Operated on the king of Morocco's wife today since she asked me to be the only surgeon that could perform the #surgery #NHSHenrietta
3. @Dr_geroge Have to work hard on the debate over what illnesses could be categorized as cervical cancer and how to treat them. #NHSHenrietta
4. Went to a #pathology meeting in Washinton, D.C. but the audience didn't believe in my argument about #CarcinomaInSitu #NHSHenrietta
5. @HenriettaLacks3 Sorry to inform you that the treatment for your cervical cancer may left you infertile and I hope you will be aware of that in further treatments.
6. By growing #LivingSamples of #NormalCervicalTissue and both types of #CancerousTissue, I can study their similarities. #NHSHenrietta
https://goo.gl/images/sUcPG7
7. @Dr_geroge Can you do me a huge favor in growing #LivingSamples of both normal and #CancerousCervicalTissue? I really need them for my study. #NHSHenrietta
8. @Dr_geroge For exchange, I will offer the #LivingSamples collecting from the women in #Hopkins to you in order to grow more #cells.
9. #Cells can be collected from the patients from #CharityWards for #Research use as a form of payment without telling them. #NHSHenrietta
10. The #samples of #CervixTissues can be collected from #Henrietta Lacks, who is getting #surgery today. No need to inform her. #NHSHenrietta
11. @Margaret_Gey Great job in your lab! Seems that my #study will benefit a lot from the #cells you guys are growing. #NHSHenrietta
12. #HeLaCells are getting well known around the world, but Hopkins will still keep the patient's name confidential. #NHSHenrietta
https://goo.gl/images/1hRuaP
13. @Dr_geroge I believed that Minneapolis Star can still write an interesting story without knowing #Henrietta’s real name, so we are not running the risk of revealing her #name.
14. #HeLa #cells are having such a great impact in the world. I believe that there will be more #NewFindings coming from #HeLaCells. #NHSHenrietta
15. Doctors need to be more aware of #CarcinomaInSitu. This video can help explain what it is.#NHSHenrietta
16. It’s really interesting to look at how #HeLaCells reproduce! #NHSHenrietta
17. Many women suffer from #CervicalCancer and I'm working on the treatments. More info in this page. #NHSHenrietta
http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/cervical-cancer/introduction
18. Sorry to say this but the #Lacks family cannot benefit from the profits made by #HeLaCells.
19. 62% of women that have #InvasiveCervicalCancer first had #CarcinomaInSitu. #NHSHenrietta
The tweets from Richard TeLinde shows the progression of how he came up with his finding about carcinoma in situ, then decided the approach to prove his claim. The tweets also showed how he got Henrietta’s cell samples and his options on getting cell samples without consent. Since TeLinde was the person that decided to take Henrietta’s cervical tissue cells, he would agree with the idea that his taking patient’s cells was legal and right. TeLinde also benefited from the success of growing HeLa cells in the lab in and continue discovering about the relationship between carcinoma in situ and invasive cervical cancer, therefore he greatly supported their research.
What’s your viewpoint on the argument against giving people legal ownership of their tissues?
I think that people should accept their tissues being used for research that benefits other people. Doctors can also take the cells from the patients as a payback for offering them free medical treatments. In Henrietta’s case, doctors should not be criticized for taking her cell without her consent at first. Henrietta was a African-American and came from the charity wards. Obtaining her cell without informing her should be reasonable since it did not cause any damage on her body, and her cells were regarded as payback for the treatments she received. When doctors decided to do further research on Henrietta’s cells, they got the consent from her husband, who gave the doctors opportunity to reproduce her cells for good use.
My answer for if the Lacks family should benefit from the profit made by HeLa cells is no. If Henrietta’s cell was just simply taken from her body, it would not be able to survive for a long period of time. Therefore, the enormous profits made by the cell line was not a result of taking Henrietta’s cell, but the hard work of the scientists.
Sources
1. ”Immortal Hela Cells." Redirect Notice. Rense.com, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://goo.gl/images/yjqFaj>.
2. ”Squamous Cell Carcinoma In Situ of Penis." Redirect Notice. Dove Med, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://goo.gl/images/sUcPG7>.
3. ”HeLa." WikiPedia. WikiPedia, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <https://goo.gl/images/FgJtyN>.
4. Devine, Claire. "Tissue Rights and Ownership: Is a Cell Line a Research Tool or a Person?" Columbia Science and Technology Law Review. Columbia University, 09 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://stlr.org/2010/03/09/tissue-rights-and-ownership-is-a-cell-line-a-research-tool-or-a-person/>.
5. Haile, Lisa A. "Informed Consent or Not, Tissue Donors Do Not Have Commercial Rights | Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News - Biotech from Bench to Business." GEN. Genetic Engineering&Biotechnology News, 2 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. <http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/informed-consent-or-not-tissue-donors-do-not-have-commercial-rights/4407>.
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