What is it?
For those unaware, the brilliant charity ‘CoppaFeel!’ was founded in 2009 with one clear aim: to get women and men to check their chests to try and detect any irregular lumps or bumps that could be cancerous. Cancer is often viewed as a very taboo and uncomfortable subject to talk about, but it is necessary in order to help people: CoppaFeel! eliminates the element of taboo and reinforces the importance of community and people coming together against cancer! Many people think that they are immune to cancer, and because they are young they are invincible, but sadly this is not the case.
The truth:
Many young women under the age of 25 are diagnosed every year, and CoppaFeel! co-founder Kris Hallenga is just one example. Kris was diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of just 23. Six years on, Kris is still here, fighting the cancer and she set up CoppaFeel! with the intention of reinforcing the idea that checking your breasts regularly could save your life. Since her diagnosis, Kris has dedicated her life to CoppaFeel!. The charity has a team of staff as well as a team of Boobettes (women who also have breast cancer) who tour the country to spread the mantra of CoppaFeel! to schools, universities, festivals and anywhere else they can target a younger audience.
A BBC3 documentary was recently released called ‘Kris: Dying To Live’, documenting Kris’ diagnosis as well as her day to day life, and ultimately is another way she has been able to spread her message further. She also worked with The Sun and created ‘Check ‘Em Tuesday’, targeting a wider market, and launched the #RETHINKCANCER campaign, which encourages an earlier education of cancer in schools.
Kris is a remarkable woman, and it is not surprising that CoppaFeel! has many famous patrons, including Fearne Cotton, Dermot O’Leary and Greg James, who have all been strong supporters of the charity throughout the years. These patrons alongside others have been instrumental in helping to target a younger audience of people, particularly through their social media accounts alongside regular campaigning around the country, meaning the word has been spreading.
What is CoppaFeel! doing to help?
The charity offers different ways to help you remember to check your breasts, such as text alerts and a ‘CoppaFeel!’ app, to ensure that there is no reason to forget to keep on top of things. The #RETHINKCANCER campaign is an invaluable idea as it will help younger people to think about cancer and could prevent cancer going undetected and people being diagnosed later on. The images they have also posted online highlighting the differences in breasts is also very important, as it allows people to notice that if they have experienced change, it may not be normal.
CoppaFeel! is in Leeds!
Due to the success of the campaign, the charity has branched out and created smaller teams around the UK that act on behalf of the charity. These are called the ‘Uni Boob Teams’ and are led by student volunteers whose role is to remind YOU to check your boobs because early detection is key in treating breast cancer.
At our campus in Leeds, the Uni Boob Team have been hard at work reminding fellow students about the importance of coppin’ a feel regularly and notifying them of all the signs and symptoms to look out for. Aside from staying aware, one of the other most important things that they have been doing is raising money! The first fundraising event was the 5k MoRun with which the team wore giant inflatable boobs on their backs to raise awareness, making it a lot harder for themselves along the way. By the end of the day they were able to raise over £1000, which is a donation that will be invaluable to the charity. Most recently, they had a cake sale in the union and alongside the cakes was a sign up sheet where people could sign up to get a text or email reminder to check their breasts!
How can I CoppaFeel! at Leeds?
There are a lot more events coming up in the future for CoppaFeel! at Leeds university, one to not be missed is that of their very own game of BoobBall (Dodgeball but with boobs!). The events are always fun and upbeat and all for a good cause. The CoppaFeel! Leeds team have their own text code to send to in order to receive a free reminder to check your boobs every month, and you only need to text “UBT Leeds” to 70500 to receive the reminders!
For further information about the Leeds Uni Boob Team, do not hestitate to contact: hy13hw@leeds.ac.uk to find out more about the events and activities that are coming up.
For any more general information about the amazing work that CoppaFeel! is doing round the country, head to: https://coppafeel.org where you can find the answers to any more questions you may have.
Image sources:
Photo 1: http://www.freesamples.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Free-Coppafeel-Stickers.jpg
Photo 2: http://d25ibc27l7tegw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Screen-S…
Other photos: Annie Gault