Henrietta Lacks spent her life fighting for her family and herself. She was put through months of pain trying to reduce the spread of her cancer without the proper amount of pain medication, which made her suffer through a long painful death. During those months, she had parts of her body, her genetic make up, taken from her without her knowledge or consent. These cells made history, being sent from country to country, researcher to researcher, yet neither she nor her family received any credit for more than ten years after her death and never received any compensation from their mothers cells. The family has been harassed with questions over the decade, from researchers, to just everyday people wanting to get their share of the story. Henrietta has made a dramatic impact on the scientific field when it comes to making new vaccines or discovering new facts about DNA. She had also made an impact on her community through leadership. Her legacy has remained alive in the science world and will remain in that position for many years to come.
Photos from left to right: Deborah Lacks and Rebecca Skloot, The lacks Family, Lacks Family with the historical sign for Henrietta, Deborah Lacks, David "Sonny" Lacks Jr.,and Zakariyya and Deborah Lacks looking at their mothers cells. (The Immortal Life)