It was in October 2014 when I sat down and watched Kris Hallenga’s powerful documentary Kris: Dying to Live. The fact she was brave, frank and funny of course shone through, but the thing that really hit home was how young she had been when she was diagnosed – just 23.

After being diagnosed when she was 23, she became determined to educate other young people about early detection.

Kris Hallenga, who has died aged 38, was a campaigner who through her charity Coppafeel! encouraged young women to check their breasts for early signs of cancer; she was 23 herself when she was told that her stage 4 cancer had spread to her spine.

The founder of the charity CoppaFeel! has died, aged 38. Nick Duerden recalls her bright personality and gallows humour

News of her death was confirmed by the charity CoppaFeel! which she founded after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in 2009. Kris, who was 23 at the time of her diagnosis, had been turned away from her GP for over a year.