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Jerri Nielsen dies at age 57
last update: Jun 24, 2009 09:47 AM
From a CNN news article: Dr. Jerri Nielsen, who, nearly a decade ago was rescued from a remote Antarctic research station after diagnosing herself with breast cancer, has died from cancer.
Dr. Jerri Nielsen
In 1999, Nielsen treated herself for breast cancer while stationed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station. She had found a lump in her breast and began treating herself using chemotherapy agents that the US Airforce parachuted to the station. She had carried out a biopsy on herself with the help of non-medical crew, who practiced using needles on a raw chicken.
With the use of email and teleconference, she consulted with her doctors in the United States, who recommended that she return as soon as possible for treatment.
In a risky operation, dubbed Operation Deep Freeze, she was airlifted to the US. It was the earliest such flight attempted, as weather conditions make flights to and from Antarctica almost impossible before late Octover or early November. She was lifted off on October 6th.
After treatment, the cancer went into remission and she married and became a public speaker. She also wrote about her experience in a best-selling book, "Icebound".
Sadly, her cancer returned in 2005, in her bones and liver and later spreading to her brain.
In Psychology Today magazine in 2006 she said "My experience at the pole had to do with accepting things that most people fear most deeply and coming to feel that they need not be feared. It certainly had far more to do with peace and surrender than it did with courage. Being 'on the ice' was a great good fortune: It created a much greater clarity for me about what was essential in life. I'm not afraid of death. I've come to accept it as being part of life, and I think I've come to accept it earlier than my years because of what's happened to me."
In October 2008, Nielsen spoke at the University of Toledo College of Medicine when she took off her wig to show students her bald head, the newspaper said, and told them not to be discouraged: "There is no end of life until your last breath. We can all do something to help someone."
Article:
CNN, 23rd June 2009
