Deanna Favre promotes hope

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published 09:11 a.m., September 14, 2009

Like her famous husband, Deanna Favre is a warrior.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, she became an activist in the fight against the disease and started the Deanna Favre Hope Foundation to raise money and awareness for women around the country. She and the organization focus on underinsured and uninsured women.

Even before she started her own foundation, Deanna Favre ran the Brett Favre Foundation which has raised more than $3 million for disadvantaged or disabled children in Wisconsin and Mississippi.

Deanna Favre made headlines in October 2004 after being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 35. A few days earlier, her younger brother, Casey, died in an ATV accident.

As she began treatment, Deanna received letters from women throughout the country, saying how they were motivated to get breast examinations after hearing her story. Following a lumpectomy, she underwent five months of chemotherapy.

Stepping into the national spotlight wasn't something that she wanted to do following her cancer diagnosis. However, she understood why the diagnosis made headlines — in light of her husband's superstar status at a National Football League quarterback.

The experience has brought her closer to her husband, their two daughters, and her faith.

In 2005, Deanna Favre began selling pink Green Bay Packers hats to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The hats outsold regular Packer hats during the first half of 2005.

Favre was featured during a Monday Night Football broadcast on Oct. 29, 2007, when Green Bay played the Denver Broncos. She talked about her struggles with breast cancer and her husband’s performance on Monday Night Football right after his father's death.

Deanna met Brett Favre while growing up in the small town of Kiln, Miss. They had attended school together since early childhood and began dating in high school. After graduating from high school in 1986, she attended community college in Poplarville, Miss., on a basketball scholarship. She then transferred to the University of Southern Mississippi and obtained a degree in exercise science.

Brett Favre, with Deanna at his side, publicly announced his addiction to Vicodin — used to manage pain — on May 14, 1996. Following his recovery, he credited Deanna as the reason he overcame the addiction.

In October 2007 Deanna’s book, "Don't Bet Against Me," came off the press. The text is an account of her battle with breast cancer. She has inspired readers from across the country.

Although she describes herself as shy, Deanna Favre seems at ease in the spotlight and clearly is inspired by meeting people who find inspiration from her story.

"It has been amazing," Favre said. "After diagnosis, all the women who came up and shared their stories. That's what made me do this."

A pivotal moment came when Deanna Favre met a 40-year-old mother of three who was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

"She told me that I saved her life'" Favre said. "She said she previously had a lump but had chosen not to get it checked. But when my story came out, she decided she’d better do it.”

Her message of hope still radiates in Minnesota and across the nation.

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