The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Quotes
"We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph." - Elie Wiesel
"I've done my best to present them clearly within the narrative of the Lacks story, and I've included an afterword addressing the current legal and ethical debate surrounding tissue ownership and research."
"Her cells have now been living outside her body far longer than they ever lived inside it."
"When people ask—and seems like people always be askin to where I can't never get away from it—I say, 'Yeah, that's right, my mother's name was Henrietta Lacks, she died in 1951, Johns Hopkins took her cells and them cells are still livin today, still multiplyin, still growin and spreadin if you don't keep em frozen.'"
"But I always have thought it was strange, if our mother cells done so much for medicine, how come her family can't afford to see no doctors? Don't make no sense."
"People got rich off my mother without us even knowin about them takin her cells, now we don't get a dime."
"She was a sturdy woman with a square jaw, thick hips, short, muscular legs, and hands rough from tobacco fields and kitchens."
"Henrietta just nodded and said, 'Lord, it just feels like that blackness be spreadin all inside me.'"
"Ethel was jealous - made her hateful to Hennie somethin fierce."
"Henrietta spent hours taking care of those nails, touching up chips and brushing on new coats of polish."
"Gey was a reckless visionary - spontaneous, quick to start dozens of projects at once."
"Hennie made life come alive - bein with her was like bein with fun."
"The psychic effect of hysterectomy, especially on the young, is considerable."
"The only thing you could tell was in her eyes. Her eyes were tellin you that she wasn't gonna be alive no more."
"Doctors often withheld even the most fundamental information from their patients, sometimes not giving them any diagnosis at all."
"Patient has been complaining bitterly of pain and she seems genuinely miserable."
"Despite the spread of HeLa and the flurry of new research that followed, there were no news stories about the birth of the amazing HeLa cell line."
"Praise the Lord, people got to know about Henrietta!"
"I'll tell you everything I know, just as soon as you talk to the family and they say it's okay. I don't want any more problems. And I don't want Deborah to get sick over it again."
"Don't you open this door for nothing or nobody but me, you hear?"
"Smells like I got a mouse in one of those traps."
"Do you think them cells still livin? ... Hell naw, I don't guess they are. But they're still livin out in the test tubes. That's a miracle."
"Everything about Henrietta dead except them cells."
"Sweet Jesus, let that poor woman rest, you hear me? She had enough!"
"Everybody in Lacks Town kin to Henrietta, but she been gone so long, even her memory pretty much dead now."
"She just lovey dovey, always smilin, always takin care of us when we come to the house."
"Everybody liked Henrietta cause she was a very good condition person."
"Microbiological Associates and Sam Reader were an absolute revolution in the field, and I'm not one to use the word revolution lightly."
"If you know how to keep tissue alive, there must be some way of equalizing the reserve supply to the area of the throat and face."
"I hope that some of this hullabaloo over tissue culture has at least had a few good points which have helped others."
"They named them HeLa! And they still living!"
"It sound strange, but her cells done lived longer than her memory."
"You know, white folks and black folks all buried on top of each other in here."
"He told them he was testing their immune systems; he said nothing about injecting them with someone else's malignant cells."
"Within hours, the patients' forearms grew red and swollen."
"That don't matter," Bobbette said, "you're goin to that special girls school where all the pregnant girls have big bellies just like you."
"It seems to me the simplest explanation," he told the audience, "is that they are all HeLa cell contaminants."
"The situation at present appears rather perilous for everyone."
"The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential."
"Every human being has an inalienable right to determine what shall be done with his own body."
"This measure of discipline will serve as a stern warning that zeal for research must not be carried to the point where it violates the basic rights and immunities of a human person."
"If all those cells were in fact HeLa, it would mean that millions of dollars had been wasted, and researchers who'd found that various cells behaved differently in culture could have some explaining to do."
"He showed up at that meeting with no background or anything else in cell culture and proceeded to drop a turd in the punch bowl."
"Normal cells didn't spontaneously become cancerous, he said; they were simply taken over by HeLa."
"I got to tell you, only person I know more hardheaded than you is my sister Dale."
"That lady has achieved true immortality, both in the test-tube and in the hearts and minds of scientists the world over."
"It has been often said that scientific discovery results when the right man is in the right place at the right time."
"Will she live forever if nurtured by the hands of future workers?"
"Henrietta's name was first published, she corrected her error: 'Helen Lane, it seems, never lived. But Henrietta Lacks did, long protected by the pseudonym Helen Lane.'"
"You don't want to rock the boat. You think maybe this guy will cut you off, and you're going to die or something."
"It was very dehumanizing to be thought of as Mo, to be referred to as Mo in the medical records: 'Saw Mo today.' All of a sudden I was not the person Golde was putting his arm around, I was Mo, I was the cell line, like a piece of meat."
"A patient must have the ultimate power to control what becomes of his or her tissues. To hold otherwise would open the door to a massive invasion of human privacy and dignity in the name of medical progress."
"When tissues are removed from your body, with or without your consent, any claim you might have had to owning them vanishes."
"It's just ridiculous. Scientists don't like to think of HeLa cells as being little bits of Henrietta because it's much easier to do science when you disassociate your materials from the people they come from."
"The way Gladys saw it, that cancer was the Lord's way of punishing Henrietta for leaving home."
"When Dr. Pattillo called me, it all became real. For years, it seemed to be a dream."
"Who knew her favorite hymn? Who knew her favorite scripture? Who knew her favorite color? Who knew her favorite game?"
"I keep with me all I know about you deep in my soul, because I am part of you, and you are me."
"Everything just go through your mind, you know? How else you gonna explain them cells growing like they do?"
"Scientists don't like to think of HeLa cells as being little bits of Henrietta because it's much easier to do science when you disassociate your materials from the people they come from."
"Thank you, Ma, we will see you again someday."
"I could never forget that tumor because it was unlike anything I've ever seen."
"I think my birth was a miracle. I believe that my mother waited to go to the doctor till after I was born because she wanted to have me."
"Them cells was stolen! Those fools come take blood from us sayin they need to run tests and not tell us that all these years they done profitized off of her?"
"All those damn people didn't deserve her help as far as I'm concerned."
"People say maybe them takin her cells and makin them live forever to create medicines was what God wanted. But I don't think so."
"If she hadn't been sacrificed, I mighta growed up to be a lot better person than I am now."
"Everybody always yellin, 'Racism! Racism! That white man stole that black woman's cells! That white man killed that black woman!' That's crazy talk."
"It's not for man to tamper with. And you don't lie and clone people behind their backs. That's wrong - it's one of the most violating parts of this whole thing."
"If He wants to provide a disease cure, He'd provide a cure of his own, it's not for man to tamper with."
"Only people that can get any good from my mother cells is the people that got money, and whoever sellin them cells - they get rich off our mother and we got nothing."
"Them doctors say her cells is so important and did all this and that to help people. But it didn't do no good for her, and it don't do no good for us."
"Instead of the bedroom she shared with Pullum - they fought a lot, she told me, and needed some peace."
"I know my life could be better and I wish it was."
"Truth be told, I can't get mad at science, because it help people live."
"I'm not gonna let this stop me from learning about my mother and my sister."
"All I know is, when I get in that mood and I get frightened, I hide."
"But if they cloning her cells, does that mean someday they could clone my mother?"
"I've never thought I'd see my mother under a microscope."
"John Hopkin is a school for learning, and that's important. But this is my mother. Nobody seems to get that."
"The worst thing you can do to a sick person is close the door and forget about him."
"When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life unless it dies."
"There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, the beauty that belongs to heavenly bodies is different from the beauty that belongs to earthly bodies."
"I'm not gonna let nobody upset me right now."
"Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in me will never die."
"I have to take a test." - Deborah, after regaining consciousness, emphasizing her dedication to education despite her critical condition.
"Praise the Lord!" - Pullum, expressing gratitude and relief upon seeing Deborah recovering.
"I'm sorry I can't come celebrate with you... but praise the Lord, I'm okay." - Deborah's message, showcasing her resilience and positive spirit despite her health challenges.
"Just another reason I got to keep going on and get to school." - Deborah's determination to pursue education and improve her health knowledge.
"I feel good. Better than since before I found out they took my mother cells." - Deborah expressing a sense of relief and lightness despite her past burdens.
"I just gotta move a little slower, pay attention to things, and not let myself get scared." - Deborah's outlook on life, emphasizing mindfulness and courage.
"This story ain't about us anymore. It's about the new Lacks children." - Deborah's recognition of the broader impact and legacy beyond her immediate family.
"Stand by me, while I run this race, for I don't want to run this race in vain." - A hymn from Pullum's church, symbolizing support and communal strength.
"She's in a better place now... She's suffered a lot in life, and now she's happy." - Sonny's reflection on Deborah's passing, conveying a sense of peace and closure.
"I'm looking forward to that." - Deborah, expressing her longing to reunite with her mother in the afterlife, showing her deep familial bonds and spiritual beliefs.
"It is unknown whether you will be able to gain (participate in) any financial compensation (payment) from any benefits gained from this research."
"This isn't about trying to get patients a cut of the financial action," says Lori Andrews. "It's about allowing people to express their desires."
"The fundamental problem here isn't the money; it's the notion that the people these tissues come from don't matter."
"The use of human cells and tissues in biotechnology holds 'great promise' for improving human health, but raises extensive ethical and legal questions."
"If you can figure that out, I'd like to know. We all just wanted to forget about it, like if we ignored it, maybe it would just go away."