In 1999, Dr. Jerri Nielsen landed her dream job at the South Pole, only to face a life-threatening diagnosis when she discovered a lump in her breast. Trapped in the frozen wilderness with no immediate access to medical help, she and her crew had to rely on their resourcefulness and courage to survive in one of the most extreme and isolated places on earth. This is a story of extraordinary determination, community, and the power of human resilience when the odds seem unbeatable. Follow us on Instagram @watchhercookpodcast Sources: Nielsen, Jerri, and Maryanne Vollers. Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole. The Oprah Magazine National Geographic– The South Pole Physician recalls breast cancer at the south pole Ice Bound: One woman’s battle for survival at the south pole The Antarctic Sun- 1999 The cancer network Rescued from the south pole The Guardian: The Ice Doctor Journal of ethics: telemedicine assisted self-treatment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the role of human connection in survival?
Survival has always been our most essential drive. Though we may pride ourselves on independence, our strength has always been in connection. In the earliest days of humanity, we gathered around fires, shared food, built shelter, and stood watch for danger together. It wasn't just our bodies that evolved, it was our ability to form bonds and to lean on each other when the world grew cold and dark.
Even now, that instinct remains. In the face of crisis, we rally. In moments of fear or fragility, we reach out. And sometimes, survival isn't just about strength or resilience. It's about trust in our bodies, in our will to endure, and in the quiet but powerful truth that someone, somewhere, will show up when it matters most.
There are stories that remind us of this, stories of people who find themselves isolated in the harshest of conditions and yet persevere because of the human spirit, but also because of the human bond. This is Watch Her Cook. Hello, everyone. I'm Cassie. And I'm Danielle.
Welcome back to Watch Her Cook, a podcast dedicated to sharing the incredible lives of women who have taken their power back throughout history.
I loved your introduction today because it's super timely. I just got a, I subscribed to a sub stack for one of my favorite authors, Nora McInerney. And every week she puts out just a small sub stack piece of writing about various topics. And this one, she was writing about how we are losing our sense of human connection and
for convenience and how, you know, like everything is becoming automated from, you driverless cars to self-checkout to just kind of removing people from everyday interactions and how that's starting to affect people and how a lot of doctors are now starting to prescribe group activities as a form of just making you feel better for your mental health and being around people.
That's really interesting. I didn't realize that that was. I've heard of community support groups, but a prescription to hang out with people I've not heard of before. Yeah.
And she was talking a lot about how AI is starting to take the place of therapy, like going for therapy. And you're talking to artificial intelligence and just the red flags that that is raising and how we're losing our human connection and our
You know, for since we've been around, just relying on people for things is just so important and how we're starting to lose that and how detrimental that's starting to become. So this that introduction was just really timely for me.
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Chapter 2: Who was Dr. Jerri Nielsen and why is her story important?
You know, it's so easy to see someone else and see their situation and be like, you shouldn't be in it. But when it's you, yourself, in it, it's so much harder to see it because it's so much more involved, especially when you have children together. So with that being said, she did eventually return and their relationship did continue after that.
After Jerry had a brief affair, Jay agreed to a divorce. However, while she worked full-time to rebuild her life, Jay turned her children against her and ultimately gained custody of all three of them. By the time the divorce was finalized, Jerry felt like she had lost it all. She moved back in with her parents and her life became routine. She was searching for a purpose at this point.
Little did she know that that was all about to change.
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In 1998, Jerry stumbled across an ad by the National Science Foundation. They were looking for a physician to join a research team in the South Pole at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a research facility that supports scientific studies in astronomy, climate, glaciology, biology, and ecology.
Its unique, untouched conditions and location made it ideal for collecting data on climate change and cosmic patterns. Jerry described the feeling of reading the ad, saying, quote, I felt a prickling sensation up and down my skin, like the kind of physical excitement a child feels at the sight of a bicycle under the Christmas tree. I believe in geographic cures.
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Chapter 3: What challenges did Dr. Jerri Nielsen face in her personal life before Antarctica?
So for a lot of people, that would have been a no.
I love the sunlight.
Not for me.
The sunlight part, great. The darkness, not so much.
I don't know. I don't know. I think that would mess with me for such a long-term position. Like, yeah, if you're going to visit for a week, you can deal with it. But I feel like 24 hours of sunlight would be hard for me to adjust to. And not only the sunlight and darkness, that aside, what did you just say? Negative energy?
That small.
What was it? A hundred and something.
Yeah, there's that small detail. That small detail. Also negative 170 degrees Fahrenheit. May or may not be including windchill.
Well, for Jerry, this was perfect. As the only physician at the station, Jerry would be required to do everything from brain surgery to cleaning to filling in as a dentist if needed based on a five-week crash course.
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Chapter 4: What attracted Dr. Nielsen to the South Pole job opportunity?
This same year, a team of American female scientists, led by geochemist Dr. Lois Jones, conducted research in Antarctica and became the first all-female scientific team to reach the South Pole. Their success marked a turning point in the history of polar exploration for women.
Since then, women have steadily increased their presence in Antarctica, playing important roles as scientists, expedition leaders, and engineers.
I love how much women are spending their time in Antarctica now. And one of my favorite little trinkets that I brought back from our trip to Antarctica was I bought a patch that said women in Antarctica. And it was a pink patch and it was designed by an expedition guide who works in Antarctica, who was also a woman. So I thought it was really cool.
I had no idea about any of this history before our trip to Antarctica. And we have talked about this before with some of our listeners on National Park After Dark. But during our trip, we were obviously on a boat for a very long time. And for some of that time, we were
in different presentations that expedition leaders would present on the glaciology of the continent to the climate and mammals to early exploration. And there was one presentation in particular given by an expedition leader named Ellie about this, about women in Antarctica and the history of their participation or lack thereof. since the beginning of people coming down to the continent.
And it was one of the most profound lectures I've ever been a part of because I just never really thought of it before. And to know that it wasn't until the late 60s that women were permitted there. by the US. Australia, for example, came later as well because obviously different countries operate under different laws and regulations and things down on the continent.
But I just, I couldn't believe that for most of history, yeah, women were allowed, but on the ships. They could take one of the most dangerous treks across some of the most dangerous oceans to get to Antarctica and But once they were in the waters within reach of the continent, they had to stay on the ship while their husbands or the men of the crew could get off and do what they needed to do.
But they had to stay put. Right.
Yeah, which is really crazy to think. But also, you know, I think throughout history, there's, of course, been a lot of things that women have not been included in. But to look at Antarctica and think that women were not included in visiting an entire continent, that is, every continent has women, you know.
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Chapter 5: What are the extreme conditions of the South Pole and how do they impact residents?
At the same time, she discreetly began training a few people on the crew to perform essential medical tasks, such as operating the x-ray machine and administering IVs, under the guise that she just needed extra help, not revealing the true reason behind her trainings.
Eventually, Jerry confided in the station manager, who suggested that she email the doctor in charge of Antarctic Medical Stations, Dr. Gerald Katz. Jerry laid it on the line for him, saying, quote, Wow. Wow. Instead, he advised her to perform a fine-needle aspiration of the mass to determine whether there was fluid inside. If there was clear fluid, it would indicate a benign cyst.
Cloudy or no fluid would suggest a cancerous tumor.
Knowing that she was willing and bringing the idea forward to do a surgery on herself is really, I think that paints Jerry as a person very well. Like she is willing to go through very far lengths to take care of herself and others, of course, as a doctor. But I just thought even to ask that question, hey, should I perform this surgery on myself? It was a lot. Mm-hmm.
But with a fine needle aspiration, she recruited Walt, a welder who had also trained as an Army medic, to assist with the procedure. Unfortunately, when she tried to extract fluid from the mass, it was solid, indicating that it was likely cancerous, but this was inconclusive. Shortly after, Geri received an email from Dr. Kathy Miller, a medical oncologist at Indiana University.
She advised Geri to perform a core needle biopsy for a more definitive diagnosis.
To execute this, they required more medical supplies. So, in July of 1999, the National Science Foundation decided to send out a transport plane. This was a risky operation, and because of the extreme cold temperatures, it was too dangerous for an aircraft to attempt a landing.
Jerry questioned if it was worth the risk for everyone involved, worried that even if she did get the supplies, her chance of survival would be low if she wasn't able to remove the lump in its entirety.
But her story had hit headlines, and people were determined to help Cherry. Two planes, one carrying six bundles of medical supplies, fresh food and mail, and the other following for in-flight fueling headed from New Zealand towards the station. The staff at the station set fire to 27 smudge pots arranged in a semicircle to mark the drop zone.
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Chapter 6: How were women historically excluded from Antarctic exploration?
Geri was officially diagnosed with breast cancer via remote satellite communication with oncologists back in the United States. By this point, she had started hormone therapy called tamoxifen, which is administered intravenously, meaning injected into the veins to shrink the tumor.
Shortly after, she began chemotherapy guided remotely by Dr. Kathy Miller and oncology staff at the Indiana University Cancer Center. Using video conferencing equipment, they walked Geri through the process as she received several anti-cancer drugs, each delivered in separate saline bags and administered at carefully timed intervals.
The tumor shrank in size before growing again. When reflecting on her role as a doctor, she recalled an Irish tradition. At funerals, someone called a sin eater would consume food left on the body of the deceased to absorb their sins and help their soul reach heaven. Jerry realized that she was always absorbing the pain of others, and she needed them to now do the same for her.
She describes thinking back on how the community rallied around her in support, saying, quote, It was a freeing experience. I didn't think I would like it. But realizing how much people need each other, it frees you to need people, as amazing as that is.
I think right here is a good spot to also really highlight the people that we've talked about already. This welder and the carpentry foreman are doing exactly that. They're going out of their way to help her in a field that they're definitely not comfortable in because that's not their forte, but they're using whatever knowledge and skills that they have and they're bending it
to make it so that they can be a valuable resource for her and her time of need. And I think that that is so important to see the community that is really coming around her.
Yeah. And everyone from them to the telescope operator and the computer specialist, like anyone with any sort of skill that could be integrated into this effort, they're willing to help. And it just reminds me, you know, when she was reflecting back on oh, it's nice to have support.
I remember reading a book, it was a really long time ago, but it was called, I believe it was called Help for the Helper. And it was all about how important it is, especially for somebody who finds themselves
in a role that you're primarily taking care of others like doctors or if you're in a caretaking position for maybe an ill family member or you're always the point of contact that you're just the helper whatever that means and how important it is to to ask for help that you so freely give to others because hyper independence and doing everything yourself is great in some aspects but
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Chapter 7: How did women break barriers and begin participating in Antarctic expeditions?
So it's like, it's adding an extra layer to something that was already really hard. And now you're taking in cognitive dysfunction and bringing that into the mix too.
I mean, 30% memory loss is a big chunk. Huge.
If I had 30% memory loss right now, there would be a lot of issues in my life, I think.
Definitely. You wouldn't know about them, though, because you wouldn't remember.
I'd probably be thriving, honestly.
Yeah. I mean, because on the onset, it's like, okay, so it's going to be dark a lot and they're freezing. But actually, they're suffering from this foggy mental state. They can't remember anything. They have to write things down all the time. They're hypoxic. And they're at altitude. You know, we know... Altitude's hard.
You and I are very familiar, at least, with the dangers of being at altitude just from the stories we share on National Park After Dark and how that can really mess with people's decision-making skills. And they're being put in scenarios where they're making decisions that they wouldn't typically make. And a lot of that has to do with...
Yeah, the situation that they might be in, whether it be a survival situation or whatever. But also it's the altitude. It really messes with you and it changes your line of thinking and how you process information and what you remember. So that all thrown into the mix is just – it's like what else can they deal with here? Right. Right.
As Jerry was also going through chemotherapy, she was experiencing debilitating side effects. Dizzy spells, shortness of breath requiring additional oxygen, back pain, and eventually phlebitis, which causes inflammation in the veins, which made it increasingly more difficult for her to find hers during treatment. She attempted to stay positive and maintain a sense of normalcy.
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Chapter 8: What medical emergency did Dr. Nielsen face while isolated in Antarctica?
Yes, I would go through this again because I saw that opportunity and I took it. Whereas if I didn't go through this, I would have kept living my life the way that I was. And that wasn't beneficial for me.
It's all about perspective. And we kind of glazed over a little bit her before she got to Antarctica. She went through a lot with her husband. Yes.
Yes. She didn't have an easy life.
No.
She had a lot of obstacles, and she went through a lot of different chapters in her life that were arguably equally as hard as other ones.
Yeah, just in different ways.
For sure. Yeah, and I know that you have her book. I do have her book.
Sitting on your shelf. And I saw it at the bookstore the other day. It's a sign. Jerry is amongst us right now.
Yeah, she hears us. Well, thank you everyone for tuning in this week. Thank you for tuning in to Watch Her Cook.
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