Kris Hallenga: philanthropist and breast cancer campaigner

When Kris Hallenga died this year aged just 38 one of our brighter lights was extinguished. Writer, columnist, philanthropist and breast cancer campaigner, Kris lived life to the full after she was given just two years to live. She’d defy the odds though and with her trademark indefatigable spirit for a further 15 years, half of which she’d spend in Cornwall

Kris was born on November 11, 1985, in pre-unification West Germany to a pair of teachers, a German father, Reiner Hallenga, and English mother, Jane Hallenga. She’d have two siblings, Maike and her twin Maren who co-founded their charity, CoppaFeel! after Kris had been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer. Kris’ parents were divorced when she was nine, leading to her mother returning to England with her three girls, setting up home in Daventry in Northamptonshire.

Kris, a bright girl, attended the local grammar, and like many youngsters dreamed of wanderlust, of maybe being an air hostess, and duly worked for a travel company, relocating to Beijing and offering some English tuition along the way. This was a girl with ambition and zest for life. Her father died when she was just 20 though, so tragedy and sadness were known to Kris before she faced her own personal struggle.

Returning to England in 2009 to obtain some formal teaching qualifications, Kris would soon have more troubling things on her mind as she’d already noticed symptoms and there was a family history, her own grandmother having had breast cancer before she was 30.

It was in a field in Kent in June 2009 that Kris Hallenga and her twin sister launched their breast cancer awareness charity, CoppaFeel but for a late change of venue, it would have been held in Polzeath; Kris was perhaps unaware at the time that Cornwall would eventually become her home (Image: Jamsta) Kris, in typical fashion, took her own personal tragedy and turned it into a force for good, founding the charity CoppaFeel! in the same year, 2009, that she’d received that terrible news, when she was aged just 23. It’s hard not to feel Kris was let down, her diagnosis of stage four breast cancer a full eight months after she’d first raised her concerns and having been reassured three times that she was too young to have breast cancer.

Although her cancer had spread, she defied the grim prognosis and carried on living and began campaigning. CoppaFeel! was born at Beach Break Live in June 2009 which should have been held at Polzeath but due to a late change of venue occurred in Kent complete with artificial beach; perhaps that was still the beginning of Kris’ love affair with Cornwall though. As she acknowledged, she may have had no hair by that time, but what she did have was a steely determination and a way of reaching out to people.

The charity’s aim continues to be to raise awareness of the illness through encouraging women to literally ‘cop a feel’ and check their breasts for symptoms. A self-appointed activist, Kris was determined to spread the word to younger people and would be not only the co-founder of the charity but its CEO from April 2009 to January 2017. Kris would receive a Pride of Britain Award, be made an honorary graduate of Nottingham Trent University and would be featured in Kris: Dying to Live, a documentary about her life with terminal breast cancer. In 2014 Kris was a special guest on Russell Howard’s Good News where she candidly discussed her experience of cancer as well as her charity work. Kris articulated the impact a cancer diagnosis has on the person receiving that grimmest of news: ‘When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, it’s almost as if a silence, a gap or a moment has to be filled because it’s so heavy and tragic’. Kris ensured the silence was filled as she reached out to young women using social media as well as more traditional forms, and targeting the institutions and events that hosted and drew her age group and those even younger; schools, colleges/universities, clubs and festivals. It took a while to build steam but once the charity had found its feet text reminders were hitting thousands of young people from 2011, reminding them what they must do. It’s assuredly an early warning system that must have led to some early diagnoses and therefore the saving of young lives.

Newquay where Kris Hallenga set up home following her move to Cornwall in 2017 (Image: Nilfanion) Kris decided to make Cornwall her last home from January 2017, moving to be near twin sister Maren, and became a resident of Newquay for the final seven years of her life where she worked on her life story. In a sense, Kris’ work was done for come 2018 her charity was the third most recognised cancer charity among young adults in the UK. Maren’s son, Herbie, was born in 2019 and Kris relished being an aunt. Kris’ memoir, Glittering a Turd, was published in 2021 and became a Sunday Times bestseller. The name of her charity and memoir reveal a wicked sense of humour. As for writing memoirs, and indeed any form of writing, there can’t be many better places to pursue this than Cornwall. Kris passed away in Newquay on May 6, 2024 aged 38 due to complications from her condition. She’s survived by her mother and two sisters.

In a statement on ‘X’, formerly ‘Twitter’, the charity Kris founded expressed its sorrow at the passing of an inspirational figure: ‘We share the sad news that our founder, boob chief, colleague, friend …, Kris, has died. Kris approached life in a creative, fun and fearless way, showing us that it is possible to live life to the full with cancer. Please remember the amazing life Kris led and the things she achieved, but above all else honour her memory by checking your chest … it could just save your life’.

Kris felt her charity work helped prolong her life as it gave her purpose at an impossibly difficult time; there’s perhaps a lesson for us all there. Every new project/idea ‘boosted every cell in my body’ she said, with every cell thinking: ‘We have to stick around for this’. The final words should be left to Kris and they don’t require any further comment: ‘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’.

coppafeel.org

Kris was awarded the Outstanding Young Campaigner award in 2015 . (Image: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)