Human epithelial cancer cells are known to exhibit a reorganization of their keratin cytoskeleton and an attendant change in their elastic stiffness upon incubation with a natural lipid. The change in the keratin network was modeled and the model structures were computationally deformed using a Finite Element Method. The simulation results show a marked difference in the mechanical behavior of the cells for tensile and compressive loading conditions. In the former case, the elastic compliance increases in agreement with experimental findings. We interpret this increase by applying principles of structural engineering and suggest that cells may generally use these principles to regulate their cytoskeletal architecture.