CoppaFeel!’s founder Kris Hallenga: ‘I want to show someone living with cancer rather than dying from it’

Kris was 23-years-old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and just 2 months later she founded the charity CoppaFeel!. Following her powerful documentary, Kris: Dying To Live, we spoke to the inspirational woman herself to find out more about the CoppaFeel! message.

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by Fiona Day |
Published on

After Kris’s documentary was aired it became clear that the campaigner would be in high demand.

‘It’s been mental,’ she says, adding that ‘loads and loads and loads’ of people had been in touch with her after seeing the documentary.

Kris says there are lots of reasons behind making the documentary, which was filmed over a course of several years and tracked her personal journey living with cancer.

‘I wanted to be out there as a packaged up story that people could watch and take what they wanted from it and learn form my story,’ she says.

Kris started the charity just 2 months after being diagnosed
Kris started the charity just 2 months after being diagnosed

Kris was keen that the film ultimately had a positive and uplifting message.

'I wanted a film to be someone living with cancer rather than dying from it.’

The film tracked some of the most personal moments in Kris’s cancer journey, including a doctor’s appointment where she found out a tumour in her brain had grown.

‘I think a lot of people have no idea what having cancer treatment entails or what an oncology department looks like. People have a lot of thoughts of what it might look like so I wanted it to be a real insight.’

CoppaFeel encourages young women to check their breasts

‘I wanted it to be all encompassing with the charity and the less open stuff like the doctors appointments.’

Being diagnosed at such a young age with such advanced cancer prompted Kris to fight for an earlier diagnosis in ALL cases of breast cancer, including in younger women.

‘There was no one doing that before I was diagnosed. There needed to be something that educated young people and told them about the signs and symptoms and telling them to get their symptoms checked sooner- that’s something I didn’t do.’

‘No-one was doing that and that’s probably the reason why our survival rates are so slow.’

CoppaFeel is backed by celebs such as Fearne Cotton

Kris agrees that many women miss out on an early diagnosis out of fear and embarrassment.

‘I think we’d be forgiven for feeling like that. Unless its something brought up when we’re young… But not all of us have a mum or a sister that talks about it when we’re young.’

Kris is now campaigning for cancer awareness to be taught in schools in order for al ALL cancers to be diagnosed early.

‘People have no excuse not to be checking themselves,’ she says.

Luckily, Kris has celebrities such as Fearne Cotton and Dermot O'Leary on board to help spread the message, who she rallied through purely spreading the message of CoppaFeel!.

CoppaFeel arranges events to promote awareness for breast cancer in young people

We asked Kris about the recent ‘No Make-Up Selfie’ campaign which has garnered both criticism and praise.

‘The good thing about it is I saw hundreds of tweets of people going here’s my no make-up selfie and go check yourself, oh and donate as well.’

‘The no make-up selfies have obviously created awareness and raised so much vital money for cancer charities.’

Kris, now 28, is currently living with cancer, and takes medication every day along with attending hospital appointments every month.

She doesn’t let her illness affect her day-to-day life or prevent her from living her life.

‘There’s not reason not to be positive,’ she says. ‘I have energy to do stuff so I might as well use it towards a good thing.’

You can catch 'Kris: Dying To Live' on BBC iPlayer

Find out more about CoppaFeel! here

Find out more about cancer awareness in education at rethinkcancer.com

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