Coppa Feel!

A Northamptonshire woman says she's determined to help raise awareness of breast cancer, especially in younger women.

Kristin Hallenga, from Daventry, was diagnosed at the age of 23.  Since then she's gone on to create the CoppaFeel website to encourage younger women to check themselves regularly.

She has also won a Pride of Britain Award and been recognised by the Prime Minister for her efforts.

She was diagnosed on the 19th February 2009 and says until then she was chasing the travel and tourism dream of living an ever better, ever bigger and ever more fabulous life.

Eight months prior to her diagnosis she sought advice from her GP, who dismissed her lumpy painful breast as something “hormonal”.  The fact that her grandmother had breast cancer at the age of 30 had no bearing on whether perhaps she should be referred. Six months later she returned home knowing she needed an MOT.

Not only did she have a 6x9cm tumour in her breast but she also had one on her spine. She is at stage IV, the most advanced stage of cancer, there is no stage V. 

Kris is now trying to educate people that cancer does not discriminate and doesn;t just affect older women.