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DR. JERRI NIELSEN

INCREDIBLE STORY OF SURVIVAL AT THE SOUTH POLE

Nielsen’s South Pole saga has unfolded as both a gripping human drama and a modern allegory of the limits of technology. After discovering in June that she had a tumor in her breast, she could not be evacuated because of the weather, which held her prisoner for more than four months-marooning her, in an age of jet travel and instant communication, as surely as an 18th-century sailor on a desert island. With her rescue, there was finally the glimmer of a happy ending. As Nielsen mordantly told friends in an August e-mail:”It has been a Hell of an adventure, but not the one that I had planned.”

Dr. Miller admitted diagnosing Dr. Nielsen’s breast cancer from 11,600 miles away was extremely difficult. Her initial reaction was to order Dr. Nielsen’s evacuation from the South Pole last June and return her to the United States for diagnosis and treatment. However, Antarctica’s severe winter prevent planes from landing at the South Pole between March and October. During most of the winter, the average temperature is minus seventy-eight degrees Celsius (minus one hundred eight degrees Fahrenheit).

After learning she would not be able to leave the South Pole research station, Dr. Miller asked Dr. Nielsen’s colleagues if they believed Dr. Nielsen would be able to perform surgery on herself. Dr. Miller and other cancer experts then sent detailed instructions via email to help Dr. Nielsen and her colleagues diagnose and treat her condition, though extensive breast surgery such as lumpectomy or mastectomy would not be possible.

On June 22, Dr. Nielsen began performing breast biopsies on herself by inserting a needle into her breast and extracting fluid. The fluid was placed on a slide to dry, stained, and examined under a microscope to determine if cancer cells were present. Specimens were taken from a growth that appeared to be a cyst and from a larger breast lump.

DIAGNOSING BREAST CANCER

On July 11, an emergency U.S. National Guard mission air-dropped medical equipment and supplies to help Dr. Nielsen and her colleagues to help diagnose and treat her condition. All of the supplies survived the drop except a Siemens ultrasound machine which broke on impact because its parachute did not deploy. Dr. Nielsen began hormone treatment the day after the supplies were dropped because of the minimal side effects involved. On July 21, Nielsen performed another breast biopsy on herself, and with the new stain sent in the air-drop, her co-workers were able to send a good set of cell images to Dr. Miller and cancer experts. It was clear at that point that the cells were cancerous.

BREAST CANCER TREATMENT

Dr. Nielsen began chemotherapy on July 23 while Dr. Miller and her nurse, Dr. Haney, communicated with their patient through video-conferencing equipment that linked the South Pole station to the Indiana University Cancer Center. Several anti-cancer drugs in separate bags of saline solution were injected intravenously into Dr. Nielsen one at a time at specific rates. Dr. Miller scheduled chemotherapy sessions for Dr. Nielsen three Fridays in a row followed by one Friday off until Dr. Nielsen could be evacuated from the South Pole.

The breast cancer diagnosis and initial treatment was a frustrating, emotional ordeal for both doctor and patient. Dr. Miller said that she received e-mail correspondences from Dr. Nielsen almost every day. Though a medical doctor, Dr. Nielsen was trained in emergency medicine. She knew little about the specifics of diagnosing and treating breast cancer. Dr. Miller describes her patient’s e-mails from the South Pole as emotional and humble.

After an emergency U.S. National Guard rescue mission was delayed by severe weather conditions, Dr. Nielsen was flown out of Antarctica to New Zealand and eventually back to the United States.

Dr. Nielsen headed to Indianapolis for an evaluation at the Indiana University Cancer Center, part of the Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Nielsen was admitted to the Indiana University hospital and released a statement through the National Science Foundation confirming that she has breast cancer. She thanked everyone for supporting her through this time of crisis and expressed her desire to keep further information about her medical condition private.

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Dr. Jerri Nielsen

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