Comments on: Skloot Launches FAQ Blog Series Answering Reader Questions About The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

By: Rebecca Skloot

Rebecca Skloot — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:16:05 +0000

Thanks for catching that typo, Sam. Fixed it. And yes, the history of Hopkins and its relationship to race is all in the book.

By: Sam B Hopkins

Sam B Hopkins — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 20:56:42 +0000

I think I found a typo. I think you inadvertently reversed the last two words in the following sentence in your FAQ:
“Many of the difficulties Henrietta’s family faced came down to issues class:…”
Also, please note that Johns Hopkins had specifically provided that the hospital that was to bear his name should treat persons of color as well as whites. That was unusual for its time.
Sam Hopkins

By: Mahnia

Mahnia — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:47:39 +0000

How can one become involved with this cause and the foundation? I would love help the foundation, or wear a t-shirt or a bumper sticker or a poster to bring this plight to the attention of everyone I come in contact with. I just want to do SOMETHING to help!!

By: Rebecca Skloot

Rebecca Skloot — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:53:14 +0000

Thanks for the questions. I’ve now answered many of them on the FAQ Page of my site. A few not answered there:
Bob: Both of the figures are correct, it’s just that they’re from different time periods. The figure saying they’d wrap more than 3-times-around-the-world was calculated long ago, and with no follow up. It would be far more than that now, so best we can say on that one is that they’d wrap around more than 3 times. The 50 million metric tons figure was calculating how many cells could have ever grown, so it was a forward looking figure when it was calculated. The details of how that worked are in the notes section of the book.
KaKa: See the answer above. The 50 million metric tons figure is not exaggerated, and the method for calculating it is in the notes section of the book.
Nicholas: The figure on Wikipedia is incorrect, it’s 50 million metric tons.
Jennifer: That photo is actually in the photo insert of the book.
Tessa, Lisa, Gotkin: Only a few of the documents for the foundation are online at this point. The documents laying out the mission of the foundation very clearly include the Lacks family. Once the foundation is approved for its 501c3 status, the papers related to that will go online as well. For now, we’re waiting, which can take more than a year. The key thing is that the Lacks family is intimately aware of how the Foundation is doing, they are pleased with it, and they do not feel I’ve exploited them in any way. The Henrietta Lacks Foundation is already helping one Lacks descendant get the tutoring necessary to pass college entrance exams, and it will be helping several Lacks descendants go to school starting this fall. I will post updates on the foundation with details of all of that when the information is public.

By: T. Morrison

T. Morrison — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:25:53 +0000

1. Congrats on a masterpiece of research, writing, & absolutely amazing commitment to your subject.
2. However, one issue that I felt was not fully addressed was why, after Henrietta’s death, her children were handed over to “that hateful woman,” Ethel. Prior to her death, I felt you had painted a very positive portrait of Henrietta, her sister, Gladys, and cousins Sadie & Margaret – as a group of VERY close-knit women who supported each other completely in life (& knew what an awful choice Ethel would have been). Do you know why one or more of these relatives didn’t step in and save those poor children from true torture?
3. A small point, but to all of your fact-checkers (pp. 332 – 333) Ambien is NOT a narcotic. It is sometimes classified as sedative or, more correctly, as a hypnotic.
4. Did your scientific research help you better understand your father’s CFS (which I share)?
Thanks again for devoting so many years of your life to this amazing story.

By: porno

porno — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:25:51 +0000

Small world note. Rebecca Skloot’s father is the tremendously talented writer Floyd Skloot. His book, In the Shadow of Memory, is a moving memoir of his heartrending battle with the neuroimmune disease Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) which his medical tests showed was caused by a viral infection. (Many of the viruses that have been associated with CFS are neurotropic are neurotropic in nature and the brain damage he describes has been well documented by clinicians and neuroscientists such as Ben Natelson and Frank Duffy) His case is tragic, but not an unusual one. He also wrote: The Night-Side: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & The Illness Experience

By: Nicholas Penney

Nicholas Penney — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:10:36 +0000

I am puzzled as to which is correct, your estimate of the weight of HeLa cells produced to date:
“… they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons”
or Wikipedia’s:
“Scientists have grown some 20 tons of her cells”?
Those are two really wildly differing estimates!

By: Gotkin

Gotkin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:06:46 +0000

Two questions I’d like to you to answer. You say a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Henrietta Lacks Foundation. What portion? Has anyone accused you of exploiting the Lacks family by writing this book?

By: Tessa

Tessa — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:42:20 +0000

Rebecca my concern is similar to the one above – the book is highly acclaimed, you are on a whirlwind book tour – how do you see your responsibility towards the Lacks family now that you are becoming famous yourself? – how do you ensure that they are not objectified? The foundation has no Lack listed on the board and you do not specify what portion of profits go to the foundation?

By: Lisa C

Lisa C — Wed, 19 May 2010 13:23:22 +0000

I am wondering why the incorporation papers for the Henrietta Lacks Foundation do not specifically mention the Lacks family, other than in the name of the foundation. I understand that you want to keep your options open as to how the funds will be used, but it looks like it is theoretically possible that none of the funds would be used for the education of Henrietta’s descendants. I wish you luck with the administration of the foundation; it has the potential to do a lot of good.