Book Obsessed discussion

Please use this thread to discuss and review:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Book Description:
Henrietta Lacks, as HeLa, is known to present-day scientists for her cells from cervical cancer. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells were taken without her knowledge and still live decades after her death. Cells descended from her may weigh more than 50M metric tons.

HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks was buried in an unmarked grave.

The journey starts in the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s, her small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia — wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo. Today are stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, East Baltimore children and grandchildren live in obscurity, see no profits, and feel violated. The dark history of experimentation on African Americans helped lead to the birth of bioethics, and legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

I hope to pick this up from the library this week. I may read the series book first though. I also have some other books I want to read too!

It is nice to read a nonfiction book every once in a while. This is a very interesting book. It is amazing what medical advances were made from one person's cervical cancer cells. I definitely feel this is a must read for anyone in healthcare. It is a little rough reading about some of Henrietta's family background. The way some of the kids were treated is very disheartening and sick. Very sad that things like that happen.

I don't think I can handle another sad book:( I like to read to escape and not get depressed!

I'm with Alison here. Don't want to read any depressing books right now. Reading to escape is also my policy. :(

It has alot of positive aspects in this book about how the effectiveness of the polio vaccine would be on humans through testing them on Henriettas cancer cells. The sad parts are minimum. please do not let my comment deter you.