Henrietta's ailment was a mysterious topic due to the nature of micro-cellular structures and cancer at the time. These characteristics of the cancerous cells attracted doctors. Doctors such as Gey and TeLinde devoted time and effort to study these cells. Furthermore, sampling of tissues and cells were being used without the knowledge of Henrietta. Though sampling specimens without consent was common in the 1900's, the idea of hiding information from Henrietta display a feeling of mistrust and unethical judgment that impacted her family. .
Finding cure for illnesses and maladies are the greatest obligation for a physician. A year after her death, the Tuskegee Institution started the production of HeLa cells. Originally started out as a nonprofit organization, the production eventually lead to the selling of HeLa cells for profit. As medical companies started to gain profit, the family was neglected and forgotten. Pain and agony struck the family. Skloot wanted the world to know that Henrietta's death was not peaceful. .
Chapter Eight showed the negligence the doctor inflicted upon Henrietta. Despite Henrietta's effort to communicate to the doctors, she was sent home various times. Skloot skillfully set the tone of the novel by placing the reader into Henrietta's position near the time of her death. "Suddenly her body went rigid as a board. She screamed as the nurse ran to the bed, tightening the straps around Henrietta's arm and legs to keep her from thrashing onto the floor as she'd done many time before. Gladys thrust the pillow from her lap into Henrietta's mouth, to keep her from biting her tongue as she convulsed in pain (2010, p 85)." .
Due to Henrietta's deficiency in primary education and concept health-science, it was evident to why she was forced to bet her trust into the medical doctors who tended to her at the time. "She didn't read or write much, and she hadn't studied science in school (Skloot 2010, p 16).