By Chauntel Duren
GROSSMONT COLLEGE – There is a story that will probably go on for years. It is about Henrietta Lacks, who is still living 60 years after her death — through her cells. How can that be?
Henrietta Lacks was born in the 1920’s into a poor, southern African-American family. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1951 and was treated at Johns Hopkins University. She did not survive the cancer.
But while she was being treated the doctor took cells from her cervix without her consent and those cells have been used in over 60,000 studies. Her cells are so well-known, they even have a nickname: He-La cells. They have been used in research on polio, cancer, AIDS and other diseases.
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