1. Scientific Discovery
1.1. Doctor Gey Made a huge breakthrough when studying Henrietta's tissue
1.1.1. These cells began to grow rapidly; they were named HeLa.
1.2. In 1952, it was announced that a vaccination was developed for polio.
2. Family & Abuse
2.1. Henrietta had a large family. She was one of 10 kids and had five of her own kids with husband, Day.
2.1.1. One of Henrietta's kids, Elsie, had to be admitted to a hospital . Elsie was non verbal and suffered from epilepsy and syphilis.
2.2. Following Henrietta's death, Day invited his cousin and his cousins wife to move in and help take care of the kids.
2.2.1. Both Ethel and Galen (the cousin and cousins wife who moved in with day) abused Henrietta's kids.
2.2.1.1. Two of Henrietta's kids, Joe and Deborah, caught the brute of Ethel and Galen's abuse. Joe was beaten and isolated, leaving him with anger issues for the rest of his life. Deborah was molested at the hands of Galen.
3. Racism
3.1. In the town of Clover where Henrietta grew up, racism was very present
3.1.1. Even at the market, Henrietta describes a visible division between races. She said that white farmers got to sleep in private rooms while black farmers had to stay in the basement.
3.2. During Henrietta's time at the doctors, she faced a struggle with racism being that the doctors were white and Henrietta was black.
3.2.1. Henrietta voices many concerns about being deceived. She thought maybe the doctors with held information or didn't listen to her worry.
4. Secrecy
4.1. The doctors at Hopkins didn't inform the family that they were taking tissue from Henrietta.
4.2. Also, the doctors with held important effects of Henrietta's cancer treatments.
4.2.1. They did not tell her that the treatments would prevent her from becoming pregnant.
5. Medical Treatment
5.1. Henrietta went through vast amounts of treatment for her cancer
5.1.1. X-Ray
5.1.2. Radiation
5.1.2.1. Back then, radiation treatment was different. Henrietta had to go through procedures where the doctors would open her up, place radiation inside her, then sew her back up.
5.1.3. Therapy
6. Poverty
6.1. Henrietta and her family grew up very poor. She worked on the farm and often sold crops at the tobacco market in town
6.1.1. During Henrietta's battle with cancer, she struggled to afford a doctor