Lit Circle (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) Chapters 3-6: Quote Master

Lit Circle (Chapters 3-6): Quote Master

1. “At that point, more than 15,000 women were dying each year from cervical cancer. The Pap smear had the potential to decrease that death rate by 70 percent or more, but there were two things standing in its way…” (page 29)

• I feel that this quote is important because it clarifies how women simply didn’t get the test and even when they did, only a small number of doctors knew how to interpret the results accurately. Some doctors mistook cervical infections for cancer and removed a women’s entire reproductive tract.

2. “The Greys were determined to grow the first immortal human cells: a continuously dividing line of cells all descended from one original sample, cells that would constantly replenish themselves and never die.” (page 30)

• This quote hints to the reader the events that are going to happen later in the story. TeLinde offered Grey a supply of cervical cancer tissue and began collecting samples from any women who happened to walk into Hopkins with cervical cancer, including Henrietta.

3. “On February 5, 1951, after Jones got Henrietta’s biopsy report back from the lab, he called and told her it was malignant. Henrietta didn’t tell anyone what Jones said, and no one asked.” (page 31)

• This quote demonstrates Henrietta’s character by revealing her thoughts and feelings. Henrietta went on with her day as if nothing had happened. She didn’t want to upset anyone over something she thought she could deal with herself.

4. “Then, two days after Henrietta went home from the hospital, Mary saw what looked like little rings of fried egg white around the clots at the bottoms of each tube.” (page 40)

• I feel that this quote is important because it indicates that Grey’s experiment is accurate. In the story, Henrietta’s cells kept growing doubling their numbers every twenty-four hours, stacking hundreds on top of hundreds, accruing by the millions. The cells grew twenty times faster than Henrietta’s normal cells and as long as they had food and warmth, the cancer cells seemed unstoppable.

5. “Then, three weeks after starting x-ray therapy, she began burning inside, and her urine came out feeling like broken glass.” (page 48)

• After beginning her radiation treatments, Henrietta began showing signs of side affects. The skin from Henrietta’s breasts to her pelvis was charred a deep black. But however, the rest of her body was its natural shade.