Valley native Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald dies

Mahoning Valley native Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, whose struggle against breast cancer during a winter at the South Pole captivated the world, died Tuesday at their home in Southwick, Mass.

Her husband, Thomas FitzGerald, says she died at their home in Southwick, Mass. The cause was cancer.

She was the only doctor at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in winter 1999 when she discovered a lump in her breast.

Weather conditions didn’t permit a rescue, so she performed a biopsy on herself with the help of staff.

An air drop provided chemotherapy drugs, and she treated herself until conditions allowed a rescue by the Air National Guard. Her cancer went into remission until 2005.

Her ordeal attracted a great amount of attention from the media.

Read more in Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com