Go Beyond

My friend Leah Pullin was diagnosed with breast cancer six years ago this month. Leah and her husband Lee are very dear friends. We have shared many adventures among unreached people groups in remote and difficult places around the planet. Leah is with us today as a living testimony to God’s grace. None of us ever imagined how God would use her story to encourage so many women at home and abroad who are battling cancer. In recent years, God opened doors for Leah to speak to women in Pakistan about breast cancer. She was able to tell women about “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Here is a brief summary of Leah’s story and of how God is using her to comfort and encourage other women.

OG | Leah, what was it like when you heard the word cancer used for the first time in your diagnosis?

LP | I got the phone call mid-morning on July 14, 2003. Grace was just barely nine months old and was on the floor, playing at my feet. When I heard the “cancer” word, my first thought was, “Grace will never remember me.” Later that day, I realized that Hudson, who was 3 years old, would likely spend his life looking at a picture of me trying to remember who I was. All the memories of his first three years of life and the time that we shared would die with me.

OG | The church I previously served in Irving, Texas prayed fervently for you when we learned of your diagnosis. And, so many of the people we’ve met on our travels around the world also prayed for you. How did knowing that so many people were praying for you help you in your battle against cancer?

LP | Because my prognosis was so bad, the only hope I had was in God. Knowing that people around the world were praying for me brought peace and the power to cling to my faith — to trust God. I believe that His power was unleashed in my life because of His mercy in answering the many prayers on my behalf. In moments when I couldn’t pray, I knew others were standing before the throne on my behalf. I had a prayer-pager that people would call whenever they had prayed for me. That pager beeped night and day!

OG | According to the Pakistani National Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer for any Asian population, accounting for 40,000 deaths per year. That means that about one in nine Pakistani women will get breast cancer. How did you first become aware of the problem of breast cancer in Pakistan?

LP | In 2006, I was working with Campus Crusade for Christ on a strategy to use breast cancer as a platform to share Christ with university students. I began to wonder if using breast cancer education could serve as an effective platform for sharing the Gospel with women in “hard to reach countries.” Pakistan had been on my heart and in my prayers for years — especially after you and Lee went to Pakistan after the devastating earthquake in 2005. I did a Google search on breast cancer rates in Asian and Muslim countries and found the statistics on Pakistan.

OG | Why did you feel the call to go to Pakistan to speak with women about breast cancer?

LP | Prior to getting sick, I had worked with Muslims enough to know that it’s difficult to start spiritual conversations with Muslim women. When you approach them, they will almost always involve their husbands. Many times if a husband becomes a Christ-follower, his wife will do so out of obedience to her husband and not necessarily at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Many of our friends who work in Muslim countries had been looking for creative ways to share Christ with Muslim women. The goal of my first trip to Pakistan in 2007 was to determine if using breast cancer awareness was a viable platform for starting spiritual conversations with women.

OG | What educational resources do women in Pakistan have to help them understand breast cancer?

LP | The elite women of Pakistan have internet access and a lot of breast cancer awareness material. However, this is a narrow slice of the population. The majority of women have very little access to any educational resources. The government-run breast cancer awareness campaign is really aimed at the educated and not the majority of the population.

OG | What medical resources do the women in Pakistan have to help them battle their cancer?

LP | I was told that there are three mammogram machines in the country. At least two hospitals that I know of can perform the necessary surgeries and administer chemotherapy. However, surgery and chemotherapy are very expensive procedures and there is no such thing as medical insurance. So, few women can afford any treatment. And, many women will not seek treatment even if they can afford it because of the cultural taboo associated with breast cancer. If a young single woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she will not be allowed to marry. If a woman who has daughters is diagnosed with breast cancer, her daughters will likely never get married. Breast cancer brings much shame to the family. So, many women would rather die of cancer than bring shame to their families.

OG | You had access to the very best cancer doctors and treatments at MD Anderson, so you have an idea of what good medical care is like and how important it is in the treatment of cancer. What did you experience when you visited women in the hospitals in Pakistan?

LP | On my 2009 trip I visited several hospitals —from very nice to very primitive. In all of the hospitals, however, we prayed over the patients, including cancer patients. In one hospital, we went floor by floor, bed by bed, and prayed for healing in the name of Jesus. In one hospital, I accidentally missed a bed and was on the other side of the ward when I heard a commotion. One of the nurses came to me and told me that I had missed “Bed No. 34.” The patient wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget to come and pray for her. Even in a place of spiritual darkness, the light of Jesus was recognized. Cancer patients in any hospital anywhere in the world will welcome prayer and the hope that it brings.

OG | The most effective way to fight breast cancer is to detect it early. Because mammography and clinical breast exams are options more accessible to wealthier women in Pakistan, were the women you spoke to aware of how to perform breast self-exams?

LP | Most women that I spoke to had no idea how to check their breasts for lumps or what to do if they found a lump. I was told that the cultural norm is to not touch your breasts, so very few women feel comfortable touching their breasts regularly. This is the main reason the survival rate is less than 10%. Many tumors are not discovered until they are breaking through the skin or have already spread to other parts of the body. In recent years, the American Oncology Association and the World Health Organization no longer recommend monthly breast self-exams. Instead they recommend “Breast Self-Awareness.” However, regardless of the name and method, early detection is the key. And, in countries where few women will ever get mammograms or clinical breast exams, self-checks are the only way to detect tumors early.

OG | Where did you speak in Pakistan and to whom?

LP | I spoke at several universities and also in a rural village area in 2007. As a result of this trip, the Pearls of Great Price Program, which uses breast cancer as a platform to present the Gospel, was developed. I returned to Pakistan in February 2009 and worked with a young Pakistani Christian woman who uses the Pearls of Great Price Program in nursing schools, hospitals, homes — essentially anywhere she can gather women. I spoke in five nursing schools, at a banquet, in homes, and other venues.

OG | I know that your faith in Jesus played a major role in your fight against cancer. Were you allowed to share the role your faith played?

LP | Absolutely! I talked about my faith in Christ at every opportunity. Every time I spoke, I shared about who Jesus is, what He did for us on the cross, and how He wants to help us every day. I have been told by many Muslims that they think it’s very strange that we Christians don’t talk more openly about our faith. At the first place I spoke in 2007, a person approached my escort and asked why I was being allowed to share such information. My heart pounded in fear because I had shared Bible stories and talked about Jesus. When my escort asked for clarification, the person remarked, “She said the word breast!” Ironically, the men were much more concerned that I was talking about breasts than that I was talking about Jesus.

OG | What questions or concerns did the women have?

LP | In 2007, I spoke to a large group of women at a university. The media was there along with several government officials. The girls wrote questions ahead of time that they wanted me to answer. One girl wrote, “Were you more afraid to die or to leave your children without a mother?” I explained that I have no fear of death because the final sacrifice for my sins and theirs was performed on the cross by Jesus. And, because I choose to follow the risen Jesus, I know that my place in heaven is secure. Everywhere I spoke, the women especially loved the Bible stories I shared and wanted to know more about Jesus.

OG | What did the media report about your visit?

LP | In 2007, a newspaper in a large city in Pakistan published an article about my breast cancer talks. And, I was featured in a television news segment as well. This media coverage made many people aware of the high incidence of breast cancer in Pakistan. This coverage also highlighted the role my faith in Jesus played in my own battle against cancer.

Note | Please pray for the women of Pakistan who are battling cancer. Pray for those involved in education initiatives and for those working to improve the availability of and access to treatment for breast cancer in Pakistan. Those diagnosed with cancer need our prayers, love, support, and encouragement.