Have FAITH Foundation, Inc

Meet Faith Igunbor, founder of HFF, Inc. Faith is a breast cancer survivor and a fierce warrior for individuals and families. Faith founded HFF during her personal fight against breast cancer in 2018. Faith’s motivation for starting HFF comes from her faith in God and the alarming rate at which black women and men are being affected by cancer. She is also motivated by the services and support that she received from other organizations and friends while she was fighting her battle. 

HFF represents a charitable spirit that embodies Faith's daily life. Faith is a social worker by profession, an active youth and women leader in her local church, and a passionate volunteer of different non-profit organizations throughout the state of Georgia. HFF provides a way to give back to other families who are going through the same challenges that Faith and her family endured.  

Here is Faith’s story:
 At the age of 39, married, mother of 4 boys, breast cancer was not even a high risk for me. Faith considered herself healthy, ate responsibly and loved to exercise. I even started and maintained a fitness and nutrition awareness support group, where she encouraged many to take control of their health and eating through portion control and exercise. However, after taking a shower one day, I felt a small knot on my right breast and lymph node. I remembered waking up and praying with my husband on the day of my mammogram appointment. I went in with a strong faith, without fear. That day, I remember sitting in the waiting room, wearing a pink gown. After a long-awaited mammogram, ultrasound and an even longer wait time to see the doctor, they called my husband to come in and the pathology report read,  “it does not look good”. I immediately felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I saw my husband cry for the first time as well. I was scheduled for a biopsy to fully confirm the result. On that fateful day on December 1st, I woke up that morning and opened by Bible for my morning devotion and Exodus 14:14 came to my attention. It read in bold letters “The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." I immediately knew God was telling me, “I will fight for you.” I was at work when I received a call from the pathologist who said, “As I suspected, you have an invasive breast cancer on your right breast and lymph nodes.” I became overwhelmed with fear for my loved ones, especially my children and husband. I started to think of how the treatment would affect us physically and financially, and how my children, husband and entire family would cope. 

After the diagnosis, I went through several rounds of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation and was declared cancer-free. I vividly remembered feeling pains all over my body, being easily fatigued after performing simple tasks that we all take for granted, such as walking up and down the stairs, doing laundry, cooking, walking, and cleaning the house. These simple tasks during that time became daunting chores. I also remembered experiencing a loss of consciousness episode after fainting at the hospital the night of my breast surgery. I had several blood transfusions and even had to go back for another surgery to remove the blood clots found a few weeks after my mastectomy.
 During this challenging time, my husband and children became my caregivers. The support and love we received from friends, family members, church members, and complete strangers were unforgettable. Family members and church members brought us food, cleaning supplies, hats and scarves to cover my hair loss, clothes for my changing weight, prayers and words of encouragement. We are thankful for the assistance we received from people during my treatment. 

This is the what Have FAITH Foundation aims to do for many families: providing financial assistance, resources, prayers, compassionate care and acting as the friend that everyone needs when going through breast or prostate cancer treatment. The emotional and physical burden that cancer has on a family can be devastating. Every little bit that you can contribute helps to ease that impact and allows the family to focus on healing.
 Minorities have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial and ethnic group in the US for most cancers due to socioeconomic factors and limited awareness. HFF aims to support breast and prostate families. Your contributions and donations will help ease  the burden of fifty families receiving treatment for breast and prostate cancer. God bless you all for your love and countless support!!