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American Morning

Survival Story

Aired April 17, 2003 - 09:44   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Jeri Nielsen went to the South Pole in 1999 looking for a challenge. What she found was a struggle to save her own life. Once winter sets in, no one can reach or leave the south pole for eight months. So when Dr. Nielsen discovered she had breast cancer, her only chance of survival was to treat herself. Jeri Nielsen did, and she survived, and reported her courageous story in a book called "Ice Bound." Now the book made into a TV movie starring Susan Sarandon, airing Sunday night on CBS.
And Dr. Jerri Nielsen is here to share some of her experiences with us.

Good morning. Welcome. Congratulations. Thank God you are alive. Are there days you -- it all seems like a dream that you are here?

DR. JERI NIELSEN, AUTHOR, "ICE BOUND": It is. It's a miracle.

ZAHN: How are you feeling?

NIELSEN: I feel fabulous. I really do.

ZAHN: Are you cured?

NIELSEN: I hope so. You never are cured of breast cancer.

ZAHN: But there is that five-year marker that you reach where you are oncologist tells you made it this far, the chances are pretty good you'll be OK.

NIELSEN: That's true.

ZAHN: Tell us about your discovery of the cancer. Set the stage for us. It's 50 below zero, you can't get in or out of out of the South Pole, and you discover you have a lump in your breast?

NIELSEN: Well, I knew that we had eight and a half months before we could possibly get out. It was laid out to us that way, that we were wintering over, and that there was no way in or out, that is was easier to get us off of a space station than the South Pole, and then as soon as that last plane left, I felt the lump. So I knew I had eight and a half nine months before I could have any treatment at all. So I just assumed I was going to die from breast cancer.

ZAHN: You did?

NIELSEN: Yes, I just assumed it, and accepted it. Slowly went through a time of acceptance. I didn't tell anyone for three months, because I didn't want to frighten people for no reason.

ZAHN: For no reason? You were fighting for your life.

NIELSEN: But there was nothing to do. I had been told there was no way to treat anyone if they became ill if I didn't have the equipment myself. Being the doctor, they made that very clear.

ZAHN: You even considered doing surgery on yourself, didn't you?

NIELSEN: Yes.

ZAHN: To remove the mass, not know what margins of the cancer were?

NIELSEN: I thought I would take the whole breast off?

ZAHN: How close did you come to doing that?

NIELSEN: We considered it. We considered it very seriously, but then they decided instead to try and drop the medication in the middle of the Antarctic night, which was an incredible story in itself. The Air Force dropped all of the medicine that I would need at 86 below zero with parachutes in the dark, and we went out like an Easter egg hunt to find them in the dark, and that saved my life.

I looked up and saw that loadmaster backlift, and it was like he was from a different planet, because we'd been there so long just with ourselves in this extreme isolation, and it was such a godsend, and I looked up and saw the American Air Force, and thought I wonder how many people have locked up in the air and seen the American Air Force and thought now maybe I'm going to survive. I bet a lot of people have had that experience. It's just exhilarating.

ZAHN: Have you ever had the opportunity to intersects with any of the people involved in the mission, dangerous mission, to drop the supplies you needed to save your life?

NIELSEN: Yes, I went up and thanked all of them, and I've written to many of them repeatedly, and then there was also the Air National Guard from Schenectady, New York the 109th. They're the people who came in to recuse me because I was going downhill, I wasn't getting better, and it looked as though I would die, and therefore, we would have the station with no medical person. So they decided to risk it and come in and get me. It ended up being two weeks early, but it could have been months early, we didn't know, and of course, that was an incredible group.

ZAHN: Finally this morning, Dr. Nielsen, any word of advice out there, or words of advice, to women who are going to confront this horrible, horrible diagnosis?

NIELSEN: Yes, that it isn't that bad. It really isn't, because many people who have cancer I speak to many of them, of course, tell me that if they had a choice between having had cancer and knowing what they know now and never having had it, they'd rather risk their lives and have cancer, but be able to go on with their life knowing how important friendship is, their community, their family, every moment of life, how very precious and beautiful it is, because that's what cancer teaches you.

ZAHN: We should all learn from you the example you set. Dr. Nielsen, congratulations on the book, on the movie, and on the miracle that you are evidence of.

NIELSEN: Thank you so much for having me.

ZAHN: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 17, 2003 - 09:44   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Jeri Nielsen went to the South Pole in 1999 looking for a challenge. What she found was a struggle to save her own life. Once winter sets in, no one can reach or leave the south pole for eight months. So when Dr. Nielsen discovered she had breast cancer, her only chance of survival was to treat herself. Jeri Nielsen did, and she survived, and reported her courageous story in a book called "Ice Bound." Now the book made into a TV movie starring Susan Sarandon, airing Sunday night on CBS.
And Dr. Jerri Nielsen is here to share some of her experiences with us.

Good morning. Welcome. Congratulations. Thank God you are alive. Are there days you -- it all seems like a dream that you are here?

DR. JERI NIELSEN, AUTHOR, "ICE BOUND": It is. It's a miracle.

ZAHN: How are you feeling?

NIELSEN: I feel fabulous. I really do.

ZAHN: Are you cured?

NIELSEN: I hope so. You never are cured of breast cancer.

ZAHN: But there is that five-year marker that you reach where you are oncologist tells you made it this far, the chances are pretty good you'll be OK.

NIELSEN: That's true.

ZAHN: Tell us about your discovery of the cancer. Set the stage for us. It's 50 below zero, you can't get in or out of out of the South Pole, and you discover you have a lump in your breast?

NIELSEN: Well, I knew that we had eight and a half months before we could possibly get out. It was laid out to us that way, that we were wintering over, and that there was no way in or out, that is was easier to get us off of a space station than the South Pole, and then as soon as that last plane left, I felt the lump. So I knew I had eight and a half nine months before I could have any treatment at all. So I just assumed I was going to die from breast cancer.

ZAHN: You did?

NIELSEN: Yes, I just assumed it, and accepted it. Slowly went through a time of acceptance. I didn't tell anyone for three months, because I didn't want to frighten people for no reason.

ZAHN: For no reason? You were fighting for your life.

NIELSEN: But there was nothing to do. I had been told there was no way to treat anyone if they became ill if I didn't have the equipment myself. Being the doctor, they made that very clear.

ZAHN: You even considered doing surgery on yourself, didn't you?

NIELSEN: Yes.

ZAHN: To remove the mass, not know what margins of the cancer were?

NIELSEN: I thought I would take the whole breast off?

ZAHN: How close did you come to doing that?

NIELSEN: We considered it. We considered it very seriously, but then they decided instead to try and drop the medication in the middle of the Antarctic night, which was an incredible story in itself. The Air Force dropped all of the medicine that I would need at 86 below zero with parachutes in the dark, and we went out like an Easter egg hunt to find them in the dark, and that saved my life.

I looked up and saw that loadmaster backlift, and it was like he was from a different planet, because we'd been there so long just with ourselves in this extreme isolation, and it was such a godsend, and I looked up and saw the American Air Force, and thought I wonder how many people have locked up in the air and seen the American Air Force and thought now maybe I'm going to survive. I bet a lot of people have had that experience. It's just exhilarating.

ZAHN: Have you ever had the opportunity to intersects with any of the people involved in the mission, dangerous mission, to drop the supplies you needed to save your life?

NIELSEN: Yes, I went up and thanked all of them, and I've written to many of them repeatedly, and then there was also the Air National Guard from Schenectady, New York the 109th. They're the people who came in to recuse me because I was going downhill, I wasn't getting better, and it looked as though I would die, and therefore, we would have the station with no medical person. So they decided to risk it and come in and get me. It ended up being two weeks early, but it could have been months early, we didn't know, and of course, that was an incredible group.

ZAHN: Finally this morning, Dr. Nielsen, any word of advice out there, or words of advice, to women who are going to confront this horrible, horrible diagnosis?

NIELSEN: Yes, that it isn't that bad. It really isn't, because many people who have cancer I speak to many of them, of course, tell me that if they had a choice between having had cancer and knowing what they know now and never having had it, they'd rather risk their lives and have cancer, but be able to go on with their life knowing how important friendship is, their community, their family, every moment of life, how very precious and beautiful it is, because that's what cancer teaches you.

ZAHN: We should all learn from you the example you set. Dr. Nielsen, congratulations on the book, on the movie, and on the miracle that you are evidence of.

NIELSEN: Thank you so much for having me.

ZAHN: Take care.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com