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Henrietta Lacks - born August 1, 1920 - was an African American diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer at 30 and passed within a year due to complications from the disease. And yet, her life didn’t end with cancer; Rather, she became immortal. As contradictory as this sounds, in a sense, Lacks is still alive today. Her story begins in 1951 when she lived with her husband and four children in Baltimore, Maryland. Before her fifth pregnancy, she repeatedly complained about a ‘knot’ in her womb.After bearing her child, she experienced considerable bleeding and discovered a lump in her cervix . John Hopkins Hospital, one of the few hospitals that treated African-American patients, found a cervical tumour in the biopsy Lacks was eventually diagnosed with an aggressive form of cervical cancer. During the same period of Lacks’ diagnosis, Dr. George Gey - the head of tissue culture research at John Hopkins - was one of many scientists looking for a human cell line that would help in the research of the human genome. A human cell line was considered essential in the research of cellular biology, allowing scientists to conduct experiments repeatedly without endangering the lives of patients. Unfortunately, at that time, human cells could not be preserved for more than a few days, incapable of reproducing at the desired rate. This posed a challenge for scientists worldwide, hindering potential developments in their research. However, the year 1951 seemed to present a medical gift to scientists all over the world, especially for Gey. Regrettably, at the expense of Henrietta’s life. During a procedure of localised radiation therapy to treat Henrietta’s tumour, two sample tissues were extracted: the first one was of her cancerous cells and the second of the healthy cells near the cervix lining. These samples were observed by Dr. Gey, who noticed that Henrietta’s cancerous cells possessed an extraordinary trait. Although they were outside her body, the cells multiplied at an incredible rate and resisted apoptosis (programmed cell death in multicellular organisms). When Gey realised he had discovered the very first immortal human cell line, he sent samples to labs all over the world. Though the reason behind this unique trait is still largely unexplained, her cell line - later named HeLa (derived from Henrietta Lacks) - continues to be used for research by millions of scientists and institutions. HeLa cells have played an indispensable role in numerous groundbreaking scientific discoveries, including in the treatment of diseases like measles, mumps, HIV and ebola. It was also the major driving force in the development of the polio vaccine in the 1950’s. And yet, her impact didn’t end there. Discovery of the enzyme telomerase - which helps cancer cells evade death by repairing their DNA - and the discovery of the virus (HPV) as a major cause of cervical cancer draw their roots to Lack’s human cell line. These are just a few of the extraordinary impacts of an irreplaceable immortal cell line - HeLa. However, the creation and development of the HeLa cell line is extremely controversial. Just months after Henrietta passed away, her cells were being grown at a massive scale around the globe. In fact, before her death in 1951, Lacks’ cancer cells had been the subject of more than 74,000 studies. Unfortunately, the cells were taken without the consent of either Henrietta or her family. Though such procedures were common at the time it has raised some serious ethical concerns in recent years, including whether her cell line should continue to be used for research purposes The Lacks family - earlier concerned with the violation of privacy and concern over the global access to their DNA line - settled into an agreement with the National Institute of Health in 2013. This agreement granted approval to the use of the HeLa cell line use for scientific purposes provided that along with other conditions Above all, it is now our responsibility to remember the black woman who - though often forgotten due to her minority identity - changed the world: Henrietta Lacks. Sources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-immortal-cells-of-henrietta-lacks-robin-bulleri#digdeeper https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/08/science/after-decades-of-research-henrietta-lacks-family-is-asked-for-consent.html?_r=0&auth=link-dismiss-google1tap https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henrietta-Lacks https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks.html https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02494-z https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/henrietta-lacks-immortal-cells-6421299/ Poulomi PitalePoulomi Pitale is the current head of our interview team here at Cancer Together. She works on writing informative pieces along with interviewing others to raise awareness about cancer in our community.
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