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Who was Henrietta Lacks?

  • Posted on April 3, 2011 at 4:00 pm

I am going to post this under the category of more things I don’t know but should.  I had never heard of Henrietta Lacks before.  If you are a scientist, you probably know who she was.  If you are like me, you have no idea who she was and why she is important today.  I saw an ad for a book about her and I wondered about her.  The book is titled, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, if you’d like to read it.  Looking at reviews of it on Amazon, it must be a good read.  This is such an interesting story.  She was a young black woman with cervical cancer who died in 1951.  Some of her cancer cells were taken from her prior to her death and they are still living today.  Prior to this cancer cells only lived a short time outside of the body.  Henrietta’s cancer cells were unique and this is why she is such an important part of the scientific community.  This video explains her life fairly well in a very short form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRrNjHYxP_o

In 1976 a team of scientists wanted to study her family.  The family didn’t know about their mother’s cancer cells, the line called Hela.  It makes me wonder what else is being done without our knowledge for science.  It just doesn’t seem right to me that companies have profited from the sale of Hela and her family has members that don’t even have medical coverage.  Her cells have transformed modern medicine.  There is a documentary here that I suggest watching as it is fascinating.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-way-of-all-flesh/

Henrietta’s cells were used without her knowledge.  After her death, her cells were used without her family’s knowledge as well.  I find all of this morally troubling but also fascinating for the research that has been done from her cells.  My sister, Colleen, died of ovarian cancer.  A cure has never been found.  However, there are many things that have been accomplished because of the study of Hela cells.  You can read about them here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/23/henrietta-lacks-cells-medical-advances

Henrietta became a scientific heroine.  In Atlanta, October 11th is her special day!  Her contribution to science is immeasurable.  This has to make anyone wonder what else is being studied without our knowledge.  If you watch the video, you will see how her cells seemed to just multiply and live on.  It is rather scary how her cells ended up in research without the scientists understanding exactly how it happened.  It reminded me of my nephew, Will, who is a scientist.  I remember him talking about labs and how some are just not sterile.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers who wanted the right to collectively bargain.  Tomorrow there will be many rallies for labor across this nation.  We all need to stand together and support labor.  I suggest thinking of Henrietta on this day as well.  I’m sure Dr. King would be appalled at how she was used by a system that chooses to allow big business to profit by the use of her cancer cells.  Some may think that it is fine.  However, in my mind, the fact that pharmaceutical companies are still profiting off her Hela cells is just wrong.  A product can have a patent and people get money for their discoveries.  It seems very strange to me that this black woman and her family were treated the way they were while companies still sell her cells.  If nothing else, they should get free medical care for life.

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Elizabeth Edwards, Rest in Peace Dear Lady

  • Posted on December 7, 2010 at 5:43 pm

This is my favorite picture of Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Edwards passed away today.  I feel so sad for her family and friends.  Elizabeth was an exceptional person.  I read her first book, “Saving Graces”, and felt like she was like an old friend.  During the 2008 primary I was for John Edwards.  Of course I didn’t know about the tragedy of a life he was living at that time.  I just knew that his “Two Americas” was a powerful message.  He was the only candidate that early on talked about poverty in America.  Some people think this was largely because of Elizabeth.  I do know that she had much to say on the health care debate.  She knew how important it was to have good health care.  She continually met people during the campaign that didn’t have health insurance and were suffering.  My own sister died an early death because of the lack of health insurance, so Elizabeth’s illness and her bravery and the way she always soldiered on lived large for me.  As far as the 2008 primary goes, we will probably never know everything about that election and what he or she knew at what time.  Now it just doesn’t matter.

I didn’t read “Game Change” because I knew the authors trashed Elizabeth in that book and I didn’t care to read anything that treated her with such disrespect.  I personally thought she had been through enough.  I cannot imagine living your personal pain and suffering in public like she did.  Some could say it was her choice but I just don’t believe it.  Nobody is perfect and Elizabeth wasn’t even allowed a private time to really reflect on what was happening with her life.  She was bombarded with constant tabloid press about her husband and truthfully I wish she would have been left alone.

Elizabeth still had the last laugh because she was able to die with dignity on her terms.  Thankfully, we didn’t have to hear the blow by blow final days of her life.  One day we were told she is gravely ill, the next she’s passed away.  Shocking really, but so satisfying to know that she didn’t have to deal with the constant attention from the grueling, obnoxious press.

I am thankful that Elizabeth was spared the shadow of the press prying into her most private last days.  It is a tribute to her family and friends that they could keep this so private for her.  I wish you well Elizabeth.  You made an impact on this world and you will not be soon forgotten.  Many of us watched you battle cancer and the survival of your marriage.  I feel a profound sense of sadness at the loss of such a wonderful lady.  I know her family will miss her but all of us that loved hearing her voice when she was campaigning for a just cause will also miss her common sense wisdom.

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Sir Rusty Braveheart, My Faithful Friend

  • Posted on April 4, 2010 at 10:00 pm

Rusty and Josh

Rusty, My Faithful Friend

This past year has been very difficult for me.  My wonderful pet, Rusty, lost his battle with cancer on December 2nd.  My whole year was consumed with trying to help him get better only to discover that it just wasn’t going to happen.  After spending much money and devoting my whole life to helping Rusty my efforts just weren’t enough to save him.  I thought I was going to prove those doctors wrong and that Rusty really didn’t have cancer at all.  He just needed to cleanse and purify his liver.  I cooked for Rusty because I was so worried about what was really in his dog food that might have made him so sick.  I became obsessive and I wouldn’t go anywhere because I couldn’t leave Rusty with anybody else.  By the end of the summer Rusty started to get terrible nose bleeds.  If you haven’t seen a dog with a nose bleed, it is tough to take.  The dog will sneeze and your place ends up looking like a crime scene.  I still haven’t gotten all of the blood out of my car from the times when I had to take Rusty to the vet to stop the bleeding.  I thought if a cop stopped me when all that blood was in the car, he would be wondering where the body was buried.

Rusty really was my son, Josh’s pet.  He only became my pet when Josh went to college.  Rusty was devoted to me like no animal has ever been before.  He followed me everywhere and I treated him like he was truly human because to me he was.  Losing Rusty was like losing a cherished friend.  I would have done anything I could to save Rusty and I did everything I could think of to help him get better.  Rusty died on December 2nd.  I came home from school knowing that this could be his last day.  He had a tough time the day before.  When I got home I could see how hard he was laboring and frankly I remembered my father’s death vividly at this time.  My sister and I were with dad when he had his last breath.  I will never forget how difficult it was for us to be both praying for dad to recover and praying for a peaceful death.  We really knew dad was going and there was no coming back by his labored breathing.  Rusty was struggling and had lost control of his bodily functions as he wasn’t able to get up.  I knew I couldn’t make him struggle any longer.  I got some help to get him into the car and I took him to the vet’s office.  I was so sad having to say goodbye to my treasured friend but I knew he wouldn’t suffer any longer and that was all I was thinking about.

I have wanted to share my thoughts on Rusty but it has taken this long to feel comfortable with doing this.  Rusty wasn’t loved by everyone as he scared the hell out of delivery men, especially UPS guys in their brown uniforms.  I’d put Rusty on the stairs and shut the door.  They always wanted me to make sure the door was secure.  Rusty was a little crazy when I would go to work.  I never really knew what I might find when I got home.  Rusty could either dig up the covers on my bed or kill my sofa.  It was the worse case of separation anxiety I have ever heard of.  I think this comes with the Aussie breed as I have talked to other people about this issue.  For me Rusty was more important than my sofa.  I’d just put some duct tape on the cushion and buy a new slip cover.  I know that sounds crazy too but if you could only have known Rusty and talked with him like I did, you would understand.  You see I would ask Rusty, in a normal tone of voice, if he wanted to go outside, eat or whatever and he always knew what I was talking about.  It was pretty strange but this is one of the reasons I loved Rusty so much!  Rusty was a smart dog but he never was clever like my niece’s dog.  Jackie’s dog, Darby, interacts with the animals on television.  Rusty would just sit there and never even notice animals or anything else on television but Darby always notices and reacts to them.

Separation Anxiety

Rusty used to stay with me when I worked in my studio.  He’d lie beside me while I painted or threw on the wheel.  He was content just to be with me.  It was always a comfort having Rusty near by.  Sometimes I’d trip over him because he’d be right under my feet but I always knew I could count on Rusty for being a faithful companion.  He was always there looking for pets or a treat from me.  He also loved playing with his many toys.  I knew he was really ill when he stopped playing with those toys.  Once in awhile we’d still have a tug of war with a toy though and he’d happily take it away from me and feel like he had “won” our game.  Little did he know that I always let him win!  Rusty was a beautiful dog with soft, silky hair.  I loved petting him and looking into his big brown eyes.  He had a strong personality but most of all he was loyal to a fault.  He would never have an “accident” in the house.  Rusty would “hold” it until he could get out.  So when he hit his last day and couldn’t move and was losing his control I knew how hard that was on him and I knew what I had to do to help him.  However, painful it was for me I knew Rusty was more upset about leaving me than anything else as we were best of friends.  I know Rusty loved me and was faithful to me.  He was never disloyal to me.  He was always there when I was both happy and sad.  He sensed all I needed from my loyal friend.  If I was feeling sad I’d get a cold nose rubbing against my hand or leg.  If I was happy about something he’d always get excited too.  Rusty was my loyal friend and I will love and remember him forever.   Rest in peace my faithful friend.

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