I Lookatmaren Andthink, 'That's How I Used to Be' ; Their Features and Smiles May Be Uncannily Similar, but for Identical Twins Kristin and Maren Hallenga, 24, There Is One Devastating Difference. Kristin (Far Right) has Terminal Breast Cancer - Which, Because of Her Age, Went Undiagnosed for Nearly Two Years. Here They Tell Catherine O'brien About Their Mission to Raise Awareness Among Their Generation

Mail on Sunday › July 04, 2010

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Summary

The hallway of the Hallenga family home is dominated by a giant image of identical twins Kristin and Maren celebrating their 21st birthday with a 1920s-style party. Both willowy blondes, they look fittingly glamorous in their flapper dresses as they smile flirtatiously into the camera.

Today, however, they are no longer so indistinguishable. Last year, at the age of just 23, Kristin was diagnosed with breast cancer. For the past 12 months, her body has withstood the onslaught of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a mastectomy, and although her smile still mirrors that of Maren's, her once thick, lustrous hair is now short and fine and her complexion is inevitably paler and more delicate. 'Sometimes I look at Maren and think, "That is how I used to be,"' she says. 'And every now and then, I want my long hair back. But it is not all about how it looks from the outside. Inside, this experience has changed both of us.'

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I Lookatmaren Andthink, 'That's How I Used to Be' ; Their Features and Smiles May Be Uncannily Similar, but for Identical Twins Kristin and Maren Hallenga, 24, There Is One Devastating Difference. Kristin (Far Right) has Terminal Breast Cancer - Which, Because of Her Age, Went Undiagnosed for Nearly Two Years. Here They Tell Catherine O'brien About Their Mission to Raise Awareness Among Their Generation

We meet late on a Friday afternoon and Kristin admits to being tired, but she is also buzzing. Since receiving her cancer diagnosis, her life's work has become a campaign charity she has named CoppaFeel! because, to put it bluntly, she wants women in their 20s and 30s to 'cop a feel' and become as breast-cancer aware as the routinely targeted 50-plus generation. She has created a website, organised a plethora of fundraising activities and, with Maren's help, has just agreed to work with universities across the UK. As they describ...

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