AP Lang - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Assignments 1-6)

What does HeLa stand for, and what did some people think it stood for?

Henrietta Lacks - some thought Helen Lane or Helen Larson

Dr. George Gey

head of tissue-culture research at Johns Hopkins, devloped techniques to grow HeLa cells

Howard Jones

Henrietta’s gynecologist at Johns Hopkins

Leonard Hayflick

microbiologist who proved normal cells die when double about 50 times (Hayflick limit)

Margaret Gey

George Gey’s wife and research assistant, trained as surgical nurse

Mary Kubick

George Gey’s lab assistant who cultured HeLa cells for first time

Richard Wesley TeLinde

one of top cervical cancer experts in country at time - research involved taking samples from cervical cancer patients at Johns Hopkins

Roland Patillo

professor of gynecology at Morehouse School of Medicine, one of George Gey’s only African American students, organizes yearly HeLa conference at Morehouse in Henrietta’s honor

Courtney “Mama” Speed

resident of Turner Station, owner of Speed’s Grocery, organized effort to build Henrietta Lacks museum

Alexis Carrel

French surgeon and Nobel Prize winner who claimed to have cultured “immortal” chicken heart cells

Cliff Garret

Henrietta’s cousin - worked tobacco fields together as children

“Crazy Joe” Crinnan

Henrietta’s cousin who competed unsuccessfully w/ Day for her affection

Fred Garret

Henrietta’s cousin who convinced Day and Henrietta to move to Turner Station

Margaret Sturdivant

Henrietta’s cousin and confidante; H went to her house after radiation treatments at Johns Hopkins

Sadie Sturdivant

Margaret’s sister, Henrietta’s cousin and confidante; she and H sometimes snuck out to go dancing; she supported H during her illness

David “Day” Lacks

Henrietta’s husband and cousin

David Jr. “Sonny” Lacks

Henrietta and Day’s 3rd child

Deborah “Dale” Lacks

Henrietta and Day’s fourth child

Eliza Lacks Pleasant

H’s mother, who died when H was four

Elsie Lacks (born Lucille Elsie Pleasant)

Henrietta’s second child and oldest daughter; was institutionalized b/c of epilepsy, died at age 15

Gladys Lacks

Henrietta’s siter, who disapproved of H marrying Day

Johnny Pleasant

H’s father; left his ten children when their mom died

Lawrence Lacks

H and Day’s firstborn child

Loretta Pleasant

Henrietta’s birth name

Tommy Lacks

H and Day’s grandfather, raised both of them

Zakariyya Bari Abul Rahman (born Joe Lacks)

H and Day’s 5th child; H diagnosed w/ cancer shortly after his birth

Albert Lacks

H’s white great-grandfather; had five children by former slave Maria, left part of Lacks plantation to them (section became “Lacks Town”)

What kind of cells are HeLa cells?

cervical cancer cells

How many cells does the average adult possess?

trillions (potentially ~40 or 100 trillion)

What causes cancer?

one mutation (mistake) in the mitosis (cell division) process

Did Henrietta know her cells were removed, grown, and sold? Why didn’t her doctors tell her?

No - doctors possibly thought she wouldn’t understand, which was true

Why did Henrietta go to Johns Hopkins for treatment instead of to an institution closer to her home?

It was the only hospital somewhat nearby that accepted poor African American patients (Jim Crow laws dominant)

Based on Henrietta’s medical chart, what role did she play in how her illness progressed, and what were some potential reasons for her actions?

cancelled or declined all appointments/treatments; only went when thought it was absolutely necessary

• poor

• didn’t understand medical language/issues

• spirituality

• mistrust

What did Henrietta’s tumor look like, and what was odd about its development?

• tumor = purple, shiny, extremely delicate (like “grape Jello”)

• seemed to have developed in within a few months - doctors didn’t notice it in checkups after she gave birth

Which relative raised Henrietta, and where?

her grandpa Tommy Lacks in Clover, VA

Which relative did Henrietta marry?

David (Day) Lacks

What level of education did Henrietta have?

through 6th grade

Describe the segregation/conditions present in tobacco warehouses in the 1920s.

• white buyers slept upstairs in private rooms and lofts

• black sellers slept in dirty basement on floor with livestock

  • trauma for children - drinking, gambling, prostitution, fights, murder

What made Henrietta’s daughter Elsie different, and how did the Lackses describe it?

had epilepsy (mental disability) and couldn’t talk

• Lackses called her “touched”

Where is Turner Station?

Baltimore, MD

Why were African Americans flocking to Turner Station in the early 1940s, and why did Henrietta and Day join them?

• demand for Bethlehem steel skyrocketed after bombing of Pearl Harbor

• workers there were mainly black

• Henrietta and Day went b/c cousin Fred, who had success there, came back to get them

What is a carcinoma?

a cancerous cell - common type of cancer that begins from epithelial cells

What is the difference between invasive carcinoma and carcinoma in situ?

• invasive - gone through surface of cervix

• in situ - layer on surface of cervix

How did Richard TeLinde’s views on cervical cancer treatment differ from his colleagues’ opinions?

colleagues thought carcinoma in situ wasn’t deadly, but he thought it would become deadly by turning into invasive carcinoma (so he treated carcinoma in situ too)

How do doctors perform a Pap smear?

take cells from cervix and use microscope to look at them for precancerous cells

Why were Pap smears so important, but why didn’t they eradicate cervical cancer despite their potential?

• important b/c opened way to detecting carcinoma in situ, allowing for its treatment to prevent cervical cancer

• didn’t eradicate b/c not all women were tested, and most doctors couldn’t correctly diagnose and treat results

What were George and Margaret Gey trying to accomplish, and why?

trying to create line of immortal human cancerous cells to figure out what caused cancer and to find cure

How did Gey end up with Henrietta’s cervical cancer cells?

TeLinde wanted to be proven right, so gave Gey cells of every woman with cervical cancer who went to Johns Hopkins hospital

What did Henrietta’s treatment consent form include/not include?

• could perform any operation under any anesthetic

• didn’t seem to include taking, much less selling, cells

Why did doctors feel entitled to taking the cells of people in the public ward?

they were treated for free

What is a Brack plaque?

canvas pouch meant to hold tubes of radium for cancer treatment

What is culture medium, and what was Gey’s recipe (and what did this show)?

liquid cell food - Gey’s recipe changed constantly, but used chicken blood plasma, purée of calf fetuses, salts, and human umbilical cord blood

• shows how much medicine has changed

What was an even bigger problem facing cell culture than the composition of the medium, and how was Margaret Gey able to combat it?

contamination - Margaret was surgical nurse, so taught/oversaw sterilization of everything in lab using Gold Dust Twins soap, hired Minnie to clean lab glassware

What is the rolling-tube culturing technique, and why is it important?

involved putting cell samples into test tubes in slowly rotating drum - important b/c kept culture medium moving constantly, mimicking blood and body fluids

How did Henrietta’s cancer cells respond in culture compared to her normal cells?

cancer cells grew 20 times faster than normal cells, which died after a few dayas

Why did Ethel dislike Henrietta so much?

jealous b/c Galen (her husband) liked Henrietta/followed her around

Where did Elise go to live once Henrietta became pregnant with Joe?

Crownsville State Hospital, previously the Hospital for the Negro Insane

How did Henrietta’s tumor initially respond to treatment?

initially shrunk until it disappeared

What side effect did Henrietta’s treatment have that she wasn’t aware of, and why wasn’t she aware of it?

made her infertile - wasn’t told by doctors (didn’t give informed consent)

What did Day give Henrietta that complicated her condition?

Gonorrhea

What did the radiation do to Henrietta’s skin?

charred it

Summarize the nature of the Tuskegee syphilis study and why it was controversial.

white doctors studied black men w/ syphilis until they died (enticed them w/ meals, transport, free medical exams, money for burial); controversial b/c could stop disease, but doctors let uninformed patients die in pain

What were Mississippi appendectomies?

doctors practiced hysterectomies on poor black women (stopped them from reproducing)

Why was Roland Patillo so hesitant to put Rebecca Skloot in touch with Deborah?

talking about HeLa stressed Deborah out (had 2 strokes within 1 week from stress)

Why was Deborah so excited about Rebecca’s book at first, and what changed?

was excited/felt it was only right for people to know story of Henrietta, not just cells; next day, didn’t want to talk anymore (back into depression) b/c men of the family told her to stop talking to Rebecca (told her to write her own book, but she didn’t think could be author)

How did George Gey ship HeLa cells to other labs?

in his pocket - there was no standard

Summarize Alexis Carrel’s contributions to science. How did media inflate his work, and what were his own intentions?

in 1912, discovered way to fuse blood cells together (led to organ transplants), developed first culture medium and grew immortal chicken heart cells in it (altho not really - lies ended up discrediting cell culture)

• media represented as way to live forever

• Carrel developed it for eugenics - create immortal educated white race, kill off/sterilize everyone else

Why did the public grow to fear tissue culture? Cite specific examples.

cell culture portrayed as creepy/apocalyptic science fiction in movies, sensationalism (shocking but inaccurate stories)

• ex. cells would get bigger than solar system, cover Earth, form huge rooster that could step over Atlantic

• ex. cell culture leads to 70% of babies grown in cell culture, giant black ppl and 2-headed toads

• ex. Lights Out - horror show were Dr. Alberts grew immortal giant chicken heart, consuming city, ppl, & country

Describe the common medical practice of “benevolent deception.”

thought giving info too scary/confusing for patients, so doctors withheld important info about patients’ conditions

How was cancer care similar yet different for white versus black in 1950s?

treatments were same, but black ppl weren’t brought into be treated until later, got less pain medicine, higher death rate

Describe where the cancer spread and why Henritta’s cells did the second time Gey tried to culture them.

• tumors were spreading everywhere inside abdomen - uterus, each kidney, urethra, etc.

• cells died b/c body too contaminated with toxins that should have been flushed out w/ urine

What was Henrietta’s role in her family?

matriarch

Why did Rebecca visit Courtney Speed?

lived in Turner Station, was raising money for Henrietta Lacks museum

Why was Courtney Speed so hesitant to talk to Rebecca?

wanted Lacks family’s permission before telling Rebecca anything (family possessive of Henrietta)

What did Rebecca decide to do after watching documentary in Speed’s hair salon?

to go to Clover, VA, to Lacks Town (very definite line between Clover and Lacks Town)

Who is Cootie? How was he affected by the polio virus?

1st person Rebecca met in Lacks Town, Henrietta’s cousin; partially paralyzed by polio (disease HeLa created vaccine for)

How did Cootie explain Henrietta’s illness and other diseases that appeared among residents of Lacks Town?

spirits/voodoo - of people, bloodstained hogs with chains, etc. - gave residents diseases when they visited their houses

It is true that “regular cancer don’t keep on growing after a person die”? Explain.

True (for cancer cells still on someone’s body when they die, not necessarily for cells taken before they die and grown in culture medium - shows family doesn’t know how HeLa cells were taken and grown)

• irony

Why is the story not in chronological order?

makes it more interesting

Why did Emmett Lacks and his friends visit Henrietta in the hospital, and how did they plan to contribute to her recovery?

Henrietta had helped them so much in life (w/ food, work, dates, etc.); planned to donate pint of blood each (8 total) for her b/c she couldn’t get more from bank

When was the last time Emmett talked to Henrietta?

took her to see Elsie - last time anyone goes to see Elise (shows Henrietta shouldn’t have trusted Day to go see Elsie)

When did Elsie die?

1955, at 15

Describe how Henritta’s doctors cared for her at end of illness.

injected her w/ morphine, stopped giving any medicine expect painkillers

• just treat symptoms b/c tumors everywhere

When did Henrietta die?

Oct. 4th, 1951

How did Henrietta’s doctors convince Day to sign autopsy permission form? Why did they need his permission in the first place?

by saying it would help his children; needed permission b/c illegal to do autopsy/take tissues from dead body w/o permission (irony - legal while living)

What was Henrietta’s official cause of death?

blood poisoning

What changed Mary Kubicek’s perspective about HeLa cells during Henrietta’s autopsy?

saw Henrietta’s painted red toenails - made her really realize cells came from real person

Where was Henrietta buried, and how did she “affect” weather during funeral?

behind home-house (former slave quarters) in Clover w/ rest of dead family; giant storm that collapsed house on cousin (family says she “caused” it out of anger - shows superstition)