Kris Hallenga was a writer who promoted early breast cancer detection for young women after her own diagnosis at the age of 23.
- Died: May 2024
- Details of death: Died of breast cancer at her home in Cornwall, England at the age of 38.
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Kris Hallenga’s legacy
Born in Germany and raised in England, Hallenga never expected to discover a lump in her breast when she was just 23. It was initially misdiagnosed and dismissed as a side effect of birth control – by two different doctors. Her breast cancer progressed over the months, and by the time it was finally diagnosed by a specialist, Hallenga had Stage 4 breast cancer that had metastasized to her spine and liver. She was given two and a half years to live.
Thrown for a loop by her young diagnosis, Hallenga threw her energies into sharing her story and encouraging other young women to get ahead of their breast health by doing self exams. She began writing a column for her local newspaper, The Northampton Chronicle and Echo, chronicling her life with breast cancer. In 2009, determined to do even more to spread awareness, Hallenga and her twin sister, Maren Hallenga, founded the nonprofit CoppaFeel!
CoppaFeel! focuses on women under 30, educating them on how to check and monitor their breasts. Hallenga worked to make the information accessible and palatable to a young audience, offering text reminders for self-exams and shower reminder stickers. She fundraised with the Festifeel music festival and educated school-aged young women with talks by “Boobettes” – women who had endured their own young breast cancer diagnoses. Hallenga was the organization’s CEO until 2017, when she stepped down to write her memoir. Entitled “Glittering a Turd,” it became a bestseller.
Notable quote
“I will always and forever be proud of the moment when we got our very first email from a young woman who’d got an early diagnosis thanks to the awareness and education she received through us. She’s one of our Boobettes now, living well, thriving in fact, with cancer very much in the past.” — from a 2018 interview for Movement for Modern Life
Tributes to Kris Hallenga
Full obituary: The New York Times
