how old was henrietta lacks when she died
Henrietta Lacks was just 30 years old when she discovered a lump on her cervix while in her bathtub at home. A private-care doctor referred her to Johns Hopkins Hospital for further testing and she was diagnosed with cancer in January 1951. Lacks, the wife of a steelworker and a mother of five, was treated with radiation and sent home, but she was hospitalized the following August. She died at the age of 31 two months later. But thatâs not where her story ends. Without her knowledge or permission, doctors harvested samples of Lacksâ cervical tissue during her treatments and discovered her cancerous cells were not like any other theyâd seen â they were able to duplicate in labs and stay alive.