Durham’s big boobs on campus: ‘It’s for charity’

Durham’s Boob Team leader Anna Ball and her boob mates have spent the last month dressing up as a giant boob.

In association with CoppaFeel, Anna dresses up outside the DSU so everyone knows the symptoms of breast cancer.

The charity was set up by 23-year-old Kris Hallenga whose lump in her breast was dismissed by her GP as hormonal. Following an eight month trip travelling the world, she returned to her doctor at her mum’s orders and was told the cancer had not only spread to her spine but was now only treatable, not curable.

Anna told The Tab: “Everyone wants to find a a cure but that isn’t what we are here to do. CoppaFeel is different from other breast cancer charities, we only raise awareness.

“We want people to know the symptoms and check themselves every month.”

The Durham Boob Team meet regularly and offer monthly advice and reminders by email and text, aiding CoppaFeel’s mission to “Stamp out late detection of breast cancer.” It’s a shocking statistic that one in eight women will get breast cancer, while 400 men will be diagnosed each year.

Notoriously associated with older adults, it’s often overlooked in younger people. Anna, a second year Law student, said: “The Boobettes are women under 35 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and hope to inspire young people through their own experiences.

“The charity tries to takes away the stigma of feeling your breasts regularly by dressing up in a giant boob costume, reminding people to do it in the most obvious way.”

The society received an overwhelming amount of interest at the freshers fair. Anna said: “We had a few guys who knew that they could get breast cancer, but one boy didn’t. He was really quite shocked when we informed him that it is possible for men to be diagnosed.

“It’s moments like that which are really good because at least he now knows and is aware of the possibility”.

Next time you see Anna the giant boob, braving the cold streets of Durham, you might want to take a leaflet. Knowing how to coppa feel could literally save your life.