Henrietta Lacks, a woman who continued to help humanity even after her death.
This African-American woman from a poor family, originally from Virginia, who grew up on tobacco plantations, was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the beginning of 1951, when she was 30 years old. A mother of five, who was busy caring for children and working in the fields, neglected her health. After the birth of her fifth child, she started getting pains, but she constantly ignored them. After a certain time when the pain was unbearable, she went to the doctor. Unfortunately, it was already too late for her. During the examination, it was clear to the doctors that it was cervical cancer, which was confirmed after the biopsy. What is very interesting in this case is that these were the first cancer cells that (HeLa cells) were taken and that survived and constantly developed. Her cells were used for various researches, among other things, for finding a vaccine against polio ... etc ....
What is devastating is that Henrietta was not asked for permission to take samples, nor was she informed that they had taken them. Scientists and doctors did not want to reveal her identity so as not to have problems with the law in their further research because the cells were used for scientific purposes without the knowledge and consent of Henrietta's family. They sold those same cells to various pharmaceutical companies and gained great wealth.
She never found out how her cells became important for science and enabled many to earn millions. It was the first biological material to be bought and sold.
Her descendants still live in poverty.
Cervical cancer can be prevented with a vaccine, and it can also be cured, if it is detected in time, through preventive examinations.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH HENRIETTE LACKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICINE.
Indeed the article sound so interesting