The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, was published in 2010. The book is non-fiction and is about the life of Henrietta Lacks, a woman who developed the cervical cancer and died in 1951. Although Henrietta died, her tumor cells remained immortal, were saved by researchers and doctors and used for numerous studies, medicines and cancer research. Although the subject of the book is very scientific in nature, Skloot uses very accessible language so that many people can understand the issues discussed in the book. Skloot gleaned information for the book by spending time with Henrietta's family, particularly Henrietta's daughter Deborah, who provided Skloot with the information in her diary. Skloot also had access to photos and documents to help her write her first book about Henrietta Lacks' life. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman from Baltimore, Maryland who was lower class and therefore not accepted by many hospitals to treat her. cervical cancer. Fortunately, Johns Hopkins offered Lacks free treatment through its public department, although this treatment may not have been the most meticulous at times. In January 1951, doctors discovered a large tumor in Henrietta's cervix. This occurred shortly after the birth of her daughter Deborah in 1950. Deborah never truly knew who her mother was as Henrietta died in October 1951. Since the treatments and services offered by Hopkins doctors were free to Henrietta and other patients, there he expected that their bodies and cases could be used for research and this was their payment. With this expectation, Henrietta's tumor cells were contracted and given to Dr. George Gey. Because of the cell's ability to reproduce itself very...... middle of paper ......ncer, disease, infirmity, etc.). Without consent, a doctor or hospital should not be able to keep a portion of patients' cells to use for its own benefit, either to grow them for research or to sell them to other companies and research institutions. Being able to read one's own genome in today's world would give doctors access to a patient's entire genetic code. This is something a patient should have control over since their blood and DNA are their property. Hopefully, as Skloot has raised awareness about Henrietta Lacks' case, laws will not only be created, but will be strictly enforced to protect patients from making their genetic information available to the public and medical world. This legislation requires extreme specificity and precision but it is necessary. Only if a patient has provided consent should their bodies be used for medical research.