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Daniel Bueckman
N2 English CP
Mr. Sample/ Mr. Fannon
18 November 2014
Henrietta Diagnosed in 2014
Throughout history, people have been motivated to create, developed, and revise things to
better society and those around them. One such example in the past that clearly shows how
things have changed is the story of a young African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks
and how she was treated in a hospital while she had cancer. To start with, medical treatments to
those of other races have come a long way since the 1950s. Rebecca Skloot, the author of the
book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, found "1951 in Baltimore, segregation was law, and
it was understood that all black people didn't question white people's professional
judgment" (Skloot 63). In the book, Henrietta was an African-American who had to obey social
laws of the time. Other races than white were treated as outsiders, having to drink from separate
water fountains, go to different bathrooms, and sometimes go to different hospitals to get
treatment. Some hospitals were so discriminatory "the staff was likely to send them away, even if
it meant that they might die in the parking lot" (Skloot 15). Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with
cervical cancer during the time, so she could not get the medical treatment that she needed. A lot
has changed since he 1950s, especially with the way African-Americans were treated medically.
Henrietta's illness, if had been treated in 2014, would have been treated properly because: her
race would not cause controversy, there have been advancements in medical treatments, and the
type of technology administering the treatments has been upgraded. People were motivated to

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start social reforms in the US to end segregation, while others were driven to develop better
medical treatment techniques. If Henrietta Lacks were to walk into a hospital today to receive
treatment, she would be treated better socially and helped more medically with newly developed
equipment.
Race relations have improved since Henrietta was alive. It was the era of Jim Crow,
during the 1950s, when people of other races would be turned down at hospitals, even if it were a
life or death situation (Skloot 15). Back then, African Americans were not allowed to have the
same treatment as the white people. The discrimination of that point in time could have directly
affected Henrietta's treatments at John Hopkins. A man named Martin Luther King Jr. helped
change racial discrimination. His most monumental motion to help was when
Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters were making plans for a massive
demonstration on the nation's capital composed of multiple organizations, all asking for
peaceful change. On August 28, 1963, the historic March on Washington drew more than
200,000 people in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial. It was here that King made his
famous 'I Have a Dream' speech, emphasizing his belief that someday all men could be
brothers. ("Martin Luther King Jr.")
Nowadays, people of all races can walk into a hospital and receive treatment from the staff
because of movements made by Martin Luther King Jr. His speech was one of the turning points
of race relations in America. After his speech in 1963, African Americans started to get equal
rights and voting privileges. As a result, Henrietta, if had been treated in 2014, would not have to
face prejudice of others around her that might be different.

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Race relations had an enormous part on Henrietta's treatments at John Hopkins Hospital,
but not all the problem was related to it. The medical treatments used back in the 1950s were
very problematic, since not all of the methods had been perfected to get the best treatment
possible. During Henrietta's visit to the hospital, she received treatment in "pouches called
Brack Plaques, after the Hopkins doctor who invented them and oversaw Henrietta's radium
treatment" (Skloot 32). Doctor Brack created the radium treatments used in the 1950s to stop the
cancer cells from growing by burning the surrounding area turning it "blacker and blacker, and
the pain grew worse" (Skloot 51). That left her internal flesh burned black. From what we know
of Henrietta, she could have possibly prevented or slowed down the cancer in 2014 by getting
the HPV Vaccine. The vaccine protects against cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers ("Cervical
Cancer"). If Henrietta could have been administered the test, she could have been helped before
the cancer got too much to handle. As preventcancer.org states, "Dont smoke, or, if you do
smoke, quit". Smoking is a cause of some cervical cancer diagnoses. Since we know Henrietta
grew up on a tobacco farm, she has grown up with smoke and the toxic fumes of the raw
tobacco. If Henrietta had been careful around the tobacco and was able to have gotten the HPV
Vaccine, she could have possibly prevented the cancer, or at least have been able to treat it better
with advanced technology.
As there are advances in the medical field, new technology must be created to administer
serums and keep up with records. Skloot wrote in her book that Courtney, the lady from a small
grocery store, needed a video tape from the librarian. So the librarian walked down a row of
videos and pulled out a white box from the shelf (58). Back in that time, tapes were used to
watch videos or record things. Tapes used in the 1950s worked,

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As the tape rubs against the recording head, it applies a magnetic field which is
proportional to the input signal. This signal orients the magnetic particles in a specific
format which acts as indicators to the pattern of signal stored. When the playback head
rubs against the tape, the signal is reproduced since now the particles induce similar
magnetic patterns in the head (Stonecypher).
Magnetic tapes were used, in the case of the book, to record the documentary from BBC on
Henrietta's cells. They were also used for research, monitoring patients, and surveillance
(Stonecypher). In recent years, the public has gone to using DVDs. DVDs, also known as digital
video disk, were invented in the 1990s by Sony and Phillips, working together to come up with a
more efficient recording system (Chapin). DVDs have been implemented in hospitals as a new
way of monitoring patients and for recreational use also. The monitoring systems of the patients
are more readily equipped to help treat patients now compared to the 1950s when Henrietta was
treated. This would also allow the doctors treating Henrietta to keep recorded documents of
surgeries and of the discovery of the immortal cells.
In conclusion, if Henrietta were to walk into any hospital now, she would have better
treatment because of enhancing race relations, advancements in medical treatments, and the type
of technology administering the treatments. Henrietta would have been properly treated and not
have had to worry about what the doctors were doing to her due to advancements in race
relations. Henrietta would also not have to endure the pain of the treatments used on cancer
during the 1950s. She would also be monitored properly and not have to worry about what the
doctors might be doing to her. When Henrietta went to Hopkins, the doctor would not tell her
what was wrong, just that she needed to come back for another treatment. Now, doctors tell their

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patients what is going on in those kinds of situations. Had people not taken strides towards equal
rights for all people, man or woman, black or white, she would not have been treated at all.
Without someone to develop new medical techniques and equipment to better the treatment of
those who have fallen ill, would leave her to face the same medical treatments she went through.

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Works Cited
"Cervical Cancer Prevention & Early Detection." Prevent Cancer Foundation. BBB, (not found
publication date). Web. 10 November 2014.
"Cervical Cancer." Inside Knowledge. CDC, Revised July 2012. Web. 30 October 2014.
Chapin, Robert. "History of DVD". Miqrogroove Computer Extraordinaire. Miqrogroove, 1999.
23 November 2014.
"Martin Luther King Jr." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks, 2010.
Print.
Stonecypher, Lamar. "Magnetic Tape Cassette Player - How Does It Work?" Bright Hub
Engineering. Bright Hub Inc., 2010. Web. 10 November 2014.