Henrietta Lacks: The Woman Behind Medical Breakthroughs

What Happened Rebecca Skloot’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” reveals a story that began in 1951 when Henrietta Lacks visited Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore with severe abdominal pain. Doctors discovered she had an aggressive cervical cancer and, following standard practice at the time, removed tissue samples during her treatment without seeking her permission or informing her. What made Henrietta’s cells extraordinary was their ability to survive and reproduce outside the human body—something scientists had been trying to achieve for decades.