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Kristin Hallenga

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Kristin Hallenga
Hallenga in 2015
Chief Executive Officer of CoppaFeel!
In office
April 2009 – January 2017
Succeeded byNatalie Haskell
Personal details
Born(1985-11-11)11 November 1985
Norden, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Died4 May 2024(2024-05-04) (aged 38)
Newquay, Cornwall, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationColumnist, philanthropist
Websitehowtoglitteraturd.com
(about her memoir)

Kristin Hallenga (11 November 1985 – 4 May 2024) was a West German-born British columnist and philanthropist. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, when she was 23, she became an activist for raising awareness about the disease among young people and founded the charity CoppaFeel!.

Biography

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Kristin Hallenga and twin sister Maren Hallenga were born to a German father and English mother in Norden, Lower Saxony, West Germany on 11 November 1985.[1][2][3] Her parents divorced when she was nine, and her mother returned to England with Hallenga and her two sisters, where they lived in Daventry, Northamptonshire.[1][4] She was an honorary graduate of Nottingham Trent University.[5] Hallenga was profiled in Kris: Dying to Live, a documentary that covered her experience with terminal breast cancer. In 2009, she won a Pride of Britain Award.[6][7] In November 2014, Hallenga was featured as a special guest on Russell Howard's Good News where she talked about her charity and experiences.[8] Her memoir, Glittering a Turd, was published in 2021 and it became a Sunday Times bestseller.[9][10] She lived in Newquay, Cornwall.[11]

Hallenga died at home in Newquay on 4 May 2024, at the age of 38, due to complications from her illness. Her death was announced via her social media accounts on 6 May 2024.[12][13][14]

Breast cancer diagnosis

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Hallenga was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, at the age of 23. Her doctor originally dismissed a tumour on Hallenga's breast, leading to a late diagnosis.[15] As a result, she lived with stage four breast cancer. Despite Hallenga's cancer having spread to her liver and her bones, and having had a lesion on her brain,[16] she survived her original prognosis by having terminal cancer for over five years.[17] As of 2021, Hallenga's condition was stable and her cancer had not been progressing since 2018.[18]

I was diagnosed in 2009, and I was diagnosed eight months after first going to the doctors. I was told three times that I was too young to get breast cancer. I decided that my story needs to be told and we need to get young people thinking about breast cancer and their boobs from a younger age, and start checking from a younger age because I never did. I thought it was never going to happen to me.

— Kristin Hallenga, BBC Radio One Newsbeat[19]

CoppaFeel!

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Hallenga and her twin sister Maren decided to devote themselves to educating young people about breast cancer.[4] They launched CoppaFeel!, a breast cancer awareness charity, at Beach Break Live in April 2009.[20][21] The charity received frequent media coverage.[22] In January 2017, Hallenga stepped down as the CEO of CoppaFeel! to move to Cornwall and write a memoir; Natalie Haskell succeeded her as CEO.[18][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tumin, Remy (6 May 2024). "Kris Hallenga, Advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness Among the Young, Dies at 38". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  2. ^ Duerden, Nick (15 September 2021). "Kris and Maren Hallenga on living with terminal breast cancer". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024. I have this birthmark on my thigh — in Germany, where we were born,
  3. ^ "Kris Hallenga, Public Health Advocate". Yahoo Life. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Kristin Hallenga obituary: Uncompromising breast cancer awareness campaigner". The Times. 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Honorary graduates – Kristin Hallenga – Alumni". Nottingham Trent University. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  6. ^ "2009 Winners Archives". Pride of Britain Awards. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  7. ^ YouTube, Kristin Hallenga receiving a Pride of Britain Award, 2009 Archived 30 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved – 8 June 2015
  8. ^ "BBC Three – Kris: Dying to Live". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  9. ^ Hallenga, Kris (August 2021). Glittering a Turd: The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller. Unbound. ISBN 978-1-80018-048-2. OL 33954559M. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Glittering A Turd". Hardman & Swainson. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  11. ^ Smith, Steven (6 May 2024). "CoppaFeel! founder Kris Hallenga has died aged 38". Cornwall Live. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  12. ^ Williams, Zoe (8 May 2024). "Kris Hallenga obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Amy Dowden 'probably wouldn't be here' without CoppaFeel! founder Kris Hallenga". Virgin Radio UK. 7 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Kris Hallenga, campaigner who encouraged young women to check for signs of breast cancer – obituary". The Telegraph. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  15. ^ "IOL mobile, I never ask how long I've got" (Archived 26 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine). Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  16. ^ YouTube, Kris Hallenga talks about The C Word (Breakfast, 3.5.15) (Archived 30 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine). Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  17. ^ YouTube, Cancerversary: What's it like to survive the prognosis – Newsnight Extra' (Archived 30 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine). Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Kris Hallenga: the woman diagnosed with cancer at 23 who convinced a generation to check their breasts". The Guardian. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Fearne Cotton meets Coppafeel founder Kris Hallenga" (Archived 7 May 2024 at the Wayback Machine). BBC Radio One. Newsbeat. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  20. ^ The Independent, 'I never ask my doctor how long I've got': 23-year-old Kristin Hallenga's health crusade to warn women about risks of breast cancer Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved – 8 June 2015
  21. ^ "CoppaFeel! – Charity Commission" (PDF). Charity Commission for England and Wales. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2024. CoppaFeel! was founded in April 2009 by Kristin Hallenga (...).
  22. ^ Colletta, Isabella (18 June 2020). "In Conversation with Kris Hallenga". Cherwell. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  23. ^ Cooney, Rebecca (24 March 2017). "'I never wanted to run CoppaFeel! forever'". Third Sector. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024. Speaking two months on from her departure, Hallenga says she has no regrets.
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