Rebecca Skloot did a fabulous job of writing the biographical about Henrietta Lacks in her book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. A story of an aggressive cancer (cells doubled every 24 hrs) that would consume its host, but give the world a tool to cure many illnesses for decades to come. We are indebted to her for our better health and long life-spans. But there is much more pain and despair as Henrietta and her doctors fought a losing battle to the self-replicating cells everyday for eight months.
Her cancerous cells called HeLa cells are used across the world in Labs and research facilities to test cures even today. And believe it or not, Henrietta Lacks became a part of you the day you had your first vaccine.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Cast
Directed by George C. Wolfe, the new HBO TV movie tells the story through eyes of Henrietta’s daughter and focuses on the life Henrietta live and her selfless contribution to this world.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
Director: George C. Wolfe
Screenplay: Peter Landesman, Alexander Woo and George C. Wolfe
Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne
Release Date: April 22 2017, 8.00 PM ET on HBO East
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Story
Henrietta lacks was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer at a time when there were very few options to mange this illness. Her problems were compounded by the fact that her cells were growing at breakneck speed and invading her body and organs inch by inch every day. Any treatment and therapy available could not catch up with the rate at which it was growing.
A lot has changed since then, thanks partly to Henrietta Lacks. Why? Be cause the thing that signed her death sentence gave medical science the tool to test cures. Henrietta’s cancerous cells were not only aggressive an replicating fast, they were also strong enough to survive out of her body in a petri dish at the same speed.
The movie tells the story of Henrietta as well as HeLa cells that were taken from her body without her permission and without ever being given her the due for her contribution.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Trailer
Take a look at this The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks trailer as Oprah Winfrey finds out more about the mother she hardly remembers on a journey with writer Rebecca Skloot.
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