In 1999, Dr. Jerri Nielsen was the only doctor on a year-long mission at a remote U.S. research station in Antarctica, meaning months of endless darkness, temperatures reaching 60 degrees below zero, and no possibility of escape during the winter.

So when she discovered a lump in her breast, she could not return home. But she did not give up. She trained members of the team, including a carpenter and a welder, to help her perform a biopsy procedure, which she carried out on herself. She sent the images to the United States for analysis, where it was confirmed that she had breast cancer.

Then, in the middle of winter, all the necessary supplies for chemotherapy were parachuted in to her, and she also administered the treatment to herself while continuing to care for her team as their doctor.

She survived the entire winter and, after returning to the United States, underwent a series of operations and a mastectomy. For many years the cancer remained in remission, during which time she remarried (she had divorced before the Antarctic mission), began giving public speeches, and even had a scholarship established in her honor.

In 2005, the cancer metastasized to her bones and brain. She continued making public appearances until three months before her death in March 2009.

Her story was turned into an autobiographical book, Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole, as told to author Maryanne Vollers. The book became a bestseller and was adapted into a film starring Susan Sarandon.