No flights in or out of Antarctica are possible during the continent's long winter, and Nielsen's account of giving herself chemotherapy while she and her fellow "Polies" waited for the weather to break is even more gripping than the news reports at the time. She's candid about her pain and fear; the media battle waged by her embittered ex-husband makes her ordeal even more challenging. Interestingly enough, however, this high drama does not overshadow Nielsen's deeper narrative of a woman who came "to the Ice" seeking new meaning in a life shattered by divorce and estrangement from her children. In the back-to-basics world of Antarctic medicine, with outdated equipment, few supplies, and no assistants, she rediscovered her vocation as a doctor, free from the imperatives of corporate-directed medicine.

More importantly, Nielsen found spiritual solace in the world's most extreme environment, where she was "introduced slowly to the notion of giving more than you have and using less than you need ... of knowing that all you really own are your own thoughts." She makes the glories of the Pole so palpable that, by the end, readers will not even be surprised when she signs an e-mail to her family, "from the wonderful Ice."

Breast self exam
The instructions are simple and come with illustrations. Please take a look and print out a copy for yourself. You are worth it. Make a copy for your best friend, your mom and your sister. Put it into a card and tell them how much you care about them. Do it, before it’s too late.

Breast Cancer Statistics
& what they REALLY mean
What does the 1 in 9 statistic for getting breast cancer really mean for me? This statistic is always seen when anyone talks about breast cancer risk. A woman's risk for developing breast cancer depends on many factors. Find out more.

Susan Love interview

more Breast Cancer Books
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