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
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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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