Imagine if your mother died and her cells were stolen, as well as you and your siblings growing up in an abusive environment. This is the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family. She was a black woman with cervical cancer growing in the cervix. During her surgery to remove the cancer, they took a sample of a tumor from her cervix to have it examined in the lab. As scientists worked with Henrietta's cells, they discovered that they were immortal. At this point, no one, including Henrietta, knew the sample had been taken. Life continued for Henrietta and her family, but because of all the dramatic events that occurred, the family continued to suffer throughout their lives. Elsie, the eldest daughter, was sent to Crownsville, a hospital for the insane, for epilepsy. Deborah, also known as Dale, and the rest of her siblings were forced to live with her abusive uncle and aunt. She spent most of her life trying to get answers about her mother's cells. Her experiences were shown throughout the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, which also conveys the idea of ​​the many ways the Lacks family suffered over the years. In the film, Henrietta's life was shown in short, vague flashbacks to present parts of her life to give viewers a better perspective of what she experienced. The book depicts her life by describing Henrietta as if it were present time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Suffering can be shown in different ways throughout the book and film. They were both the same when Ethel was abusing the Lacks' children. Ethel is related to Henrietta because she is the wife of Galen, Henrietta's brother. Ethel and Galen forced their way into the Lacks family home after Henrietta's death. Deborah told us: “Sometimes she would beat Joe for no reason while he was lying in bed or sitting at the table. She hit him with her fists, or with whatever she had at hand: shoes, chairs, sticks. She made him stand on one foot in a dark corner of the basement, his nose pressed against the wall, his eyes filled with dirt. (Skloot 112). After their mother's death, Lacks' children were affected in ways no one could have ever predicted. When Ethel moved in with the Lacks, she took out all her anger on the children. Since no one knew the children were being abused, Joe suffered most of the abuse. No one was able to be there to protect the children, leading to a life of anger, violence and homelessness due to Ethel's abuse. Although Ethel's abuse wasn't the only thing Lacks' children suffered from. The book showed suffering in different ways than the film. While Henrietta was receiving radium treatments, she walked from her cousin's house to the hospital, but once her illness worsened, she stayed in the hospital and the doctors would not give her the treatment. complete. Rebecca told us: “Her doctors tried in vain to relieve her suffering. “Demerol doesn't seem to work for the pain,” one wrote, so he tried morphine. “That doesn’t help much either.” He gave him Dromoran. “This stuff works,” he wrote. “But not for long. » (Skloot 66). These notes from her doctor reflect not only Henrietta's level of pain, but also her desperation to find something that.