Shining a light on dark history of experimentation on blacks [The Record, Stockton, Calif.]

Nov. 04--When Rebecca Skloot arrives on University of the Pacific campus on Tuesday, the subject of her talk precedes her.

Specifically, the HeLa cells, the subject of Skloot's New York Times' best-seller "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," are already in Stockton.

"They had them when I got here in 1994," said Craig Vierra, professor and chair of the university's biology department. "It's become the gold standard for cell lines."

The professor knows the cancer cells, which since being removed from Henrietta Lacks in 1951, have continued to be reproduced in labs around the world for use in countless medical breakthroughs. Like many in his field, though, Vierra didn't know about the woman behind the cells.

Skloot changed that, introducing Henrietta Lacks to the world in her 2010 book.

Skloot, who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian, was taking a biology class in a community college at the age of 16 when she was introduced to the cells of Henrietta Lacks.

"My teacher, Mr. Defler, wrote Henrietta's name on the chalk board and told us she was a black woman," Skloot said, via email. "That was it, and class was over. I followed him to his office saying, 'Who was she? Did she have any kids? What do they think about those cells?' He told me no one knew anything else about her. 'But if you're curious,' he told me, 'go do some research, write up a little paper about what you find and I'll give you some extra credit.' "

It wasn't until after she'd earned a bachelor's of science degree and a master's of fine arts degree and became a science journalist that Skloot had the opportunity to answer that question, "Who was Henrietta Lacks?" She spent 10 years finding the answer and her eminently readable book details not only the story of Lacks and how her cervical cancer cells took on a life of their own, but what happened to her family, and how the search for answers affected her

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' isn't just about science, and Skloot's talk, scheduled for 7-9 p.m., won't be, either.

"I hear from many readers who are interested in science, but I also hear from countless others who say, 'I have no interest in science, in fact, I hate science, but I loved this story,' " Skloot wrote in an email. "Often they're amazed by that fact. It thrills me to hear from readers who are surprised to find themselves reading and enjoying a book they thought of as a science book, but it doesn't surprise me. I think one of the reasons this story has touched so many people is because there isn't a single person out there that hasn't benefitted personally from HeLa cells. Whether it's because you got the polio vaccine, or someone you love survived cancer by being treated with a drug made using HeLa cells, or you or your child were conceived through in vitro fertilization, which HeLa cells helped develop, ... the list of ways HeLa cells impact people on a daily basis is pretty endless. So there's always a point in the book when a reader realizes that. You turn a page and suddenly think, 'Oh, wait -- that's me. My mom is alive today because she took that drug. Or I am. Or my children are.' "

Beyond discovering the benefits of the cells, though, readers are drawn into the story, which reads like a novel. While Henrietta's cells paved the way to medical marvels, her children could not afford health insurance.

Henrietta Lacks was universally loved, described as caring and loving. When she died of cancer in 1951, the three youngest of her five children ended up in the care of a sadistic aunt, who took delight in beating them. The youngest would grow up angry and violent and spend time in prison.

Henrietta's eldest daughter, born mentally challenged, had been institutionalized, and had no contact with family once her mother died. The quest to learn about her death there, at 15, with Henrietta's younger daughter, Deborah, provides the emotional peak of Skloot's book.

"The most shocking moment I encountered while researching the book was definitely the trip that Deborah and I took to Crownsville (Institution) to try to find her sister's medical records," Skloot said. "What we found was far more disturbing and shocking than either of us could have imagined. But it was also troubling for me as a reporter -- finding Elsie's photo in Crownsville was one of the events that made me realize it had to be in the book. That trip turned out to be a very dangerous one for Deborah -- by then, I couldn't have stopped her from coming with me if I'd tried at that point, and in the end, she was very relieved to know the information we found, but she came very close to having a stroke on that trip. Neither of us realized going in how physically dangerous that trip really was for her."

The trip shaped the book's narrative, which, beyond the story of a family, cells and science, raises questions about "trust, race and medicine, class, access to education and health care, ... and the impact that losing a mother can have on her children," Skloot said.

All of those issues will be open for discussion when Skloot makes her visit, sponsored by the Department of English and Pacific's women's center.

"I don't have a message for (the Pacific) community when it comes to this book, because so much of what you take from the story depends on who you are and what you believe," Skloot said. "There isn't any department within a university that can't find something specific in the book that relates to it, whether it's law, women's studies, history, anthropology, the sciences, writing, you name it -- the story really does cross all boundaries, and brings many important lessons and discussion points along with it.

"But one of the main messages I bring to students anywhere reading the book is the importance of following your curiosity through life. ... When I visit schools, I tell students the story of how I went from that moment of curiosity (in a community college biology class) to becoming a professional writer, because I think it carries an important lesson: Follow your curiosity.

"Take classes that interest you, even if they're outside your major. When you hear things that make you curious, ask questions; follow that curiosity wherever it might lead you, and let yourself get swept away by it when it starts to take you in a direction you didn't imagine going. If I hadn't done that, I would be a veterinarian today, and I'd still be wondering who Henrietta Lacks was."

Contact reporter Lori Gilbert at (209) 546-8284 or [email protected].

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