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Kris Hallenga

Diagnosed with incurable breast cancer at 23 after her symptoms were dismissed, she founded CoppaFeel! in 2009 to teach young people to check their chests. She lived with the disease for fifteen years.

Kris Hallenga (1985-2024) was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in February 2009 at 23, having been turned away by her GP for eight months. Within weeks she and her twin sister Maren founded CoppaFeel!, the first UK charity dedicated to breast awareness among young people, using festivals, universities and the Boob Team to make regular self-checking normal and to press GPs to take young women's symptoms seriously. She wrote a column for The Sun, made the BBC documentary Kris: Dying to Live, and published a memoir in 2021. In 2022 she held a living funeral. She died in May 2024 at 38; CoppaFeel! continues its work in schools and workplaces.

Role
Founder of CoppaFeel!, the first breast cancer charity aimed at young people
Specialisms
Breast cancer in young womenEarly detectionCancer charities

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