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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Essay Example

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According to expert’s remarks on Henrietta Lacks – a story of a young woman who actually suffered cancer to her death-, it is evident that through her demise, people have known what cancer is all about. She suffered from cervical cancer, and it is clear as per the book that a few months before her death, a doctor did cut out although a small sample of her cancer and healthy cells, but without her permission (Skloot 23). According to experts, this became not only the first, but also the most important line of human cells to multiply in the laboratory milieu. It is through her cells that scientists have so far made some of the important approaches in the history of medical. As much as the truth is that the scientist have made pertinent advancement in medical field, the dark side of it is that it is her cells that gave out this pertinent study, which actually was taken without her consent. With that, she is not benefitting in any way, since even after her cells were cut, at the end she died of the disease (McAllister et al 62).

Having said that, the possibilities are drawn in two ways, one it could be better if the doctors could first seek the consent of the patient before cutting the cells. Several outcomes could be revealed from the act of seeking her consent. One, there is a possibility that she could have refused or opposed the taking of cells from her body (Hansen 139). Moreover, with that, it means nearly sixty years from that time, maybe still the secret behind cancer could not have been identified. Second, still she could have died just the way she died. Now since the doctors fall on the CON (no, don’t consent) side, the study of cancer has so far been revealed. At least people can identify what causes cancer. According to the above statement, I am of the opinion that patients should consent for their tissues to be removed.

An evidence sheet that allows patients to consent for their tissues to be removed.

Reason to remove	Benefit to the patient
Diagnostic reasons	If a patient allows her tissue to be removed, he will get the exact diagnostic procedures that will determine the exact problem he or she is facing.
Future use	For patients that allow their tissues to be removed, they not only secure their current health condition, but also, they will be a bridge to future treatment.
More study	Cells that have been removed from a patient actually will reveal future study. For instance, with the case of Henrietta, her cells has shown how human cells can multiply. The small amount of cells that were cut, have so far yielded in almost fifty metric tons of cells.
Record keeping	The cut cells will be a specimen, and so, it will be kept in record, hence keeping track of the health matters of the related patient.

Actually, having analyzed this, it is pertinent to note that patients should accept and give the doctors a go ahead to cut cells from their body, with the aim of further scrutiny. Moreover, even if the patient will not actually get the immediate benefit from the cut cells, the truth of the matter is that her future offs springs will actually benefit from the same. For instance, in the case of Henrietta Lacks, her children, who were earlier own submerged in poverty, are now given all the attention and money by the scientist around the world, a thing they could not have experienced if actually their mother could be asked, then deny the doctors a chance of cutting her cells. Therefore, all the patients are urged to give doctors the consent of cutting their cells if the need arises.

Works Cited

McAllister, Robert M., Sylvia Teich Horowitz, and Raymond V. Gilden. Cancer. New York: BasicBooks, 1993. Print.

Skloot, Rebecca. The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010. Print.

Hansen, Stevens. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. London: Turtleback Books, 2011. Print.