Chapter 5: Blackness Be Spreadin All Inside

Henrietta had started her radium treatments and wasn't showing any of the side effects such as nausea, vomiting, weakness or anemia so things were looking good. Even her closest friends and family couldn't tell that something was wrong. She thought she would go back to Hopkins to get her radium treatments every month and no one would know. Her cousin Sadie tells the author about how Henrietta was the type of person to brighten any one's day and just a fun lively person to be around, even when she was sick. When Henrietta went back to Hopkins for her second radium treatment doctors were impressed with her progress. The tumor had shrunk and besides a little inflammation from the treatment her cervix was starting to look better. However, that didn't change the fact the she had to go back every weekday for a month for X-ray therapy. When she started going she told her family but at that point it didn't seem like there was anything to worry about. By the time her second radium treatment was over the tumor was gone and her cervix looked normal again. They thought she was cured and only continued treatment to make sure all the cancerous cells were gone. When she began her X-ray therapy they tattooed two black dots on her abdomen just over her uterus so they could be consistent with where they aimed the radiation into her skin. At first she responded well to the treatments but things weren't always good. Towards the end Henrietta found out that the treatments left her infertile, something her doctors failed to mention to her. She said if she had known she would have refused treatment but it was too late. After only three weeks of X-ray therapy Henrietta became infected with gonorrhea from her husband. To make matters worse it was superimposed on radiation reactions. As the weeks went on Henrietta's strength began to diminish. She was so tired and worn out to point that she almost collapsed on her way to her cousins home. The treatments had taken a toll on her mentally and physically, leaving the skin from her breasts to her pelvis a tar black. She said "It just feels like the blackness be spreadin all inside of me."