Rosie Connolly has admitted Sarah Harding’s death “hit home” after her own breast cancer scare.
The Girls Aloud singer sadly passed away on September 5, after being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer last year.
Last October, Rosie opened up to her followers in a series of videos about the importance of checking your breasts after finding a lump on her own.
Thankfully, the mother-of-two’s test results came back “benign”, but the experience taught her a lot as she immediately feared the “worst case scenario”.
Speaking to Goss.ie at the launch of One4all’s ‘Shop4Crumlin’ campaign, the Dublin native admitted Sarah’s death over the weekend reminded her of that fear.
Rosie said: “I think anytime you hear a story like that, especially Sarah’s story and her being so young, it literally brings me right back to that fear.”
“I have a highlight on when I spoke about it and I saved it and I don’t watch it back because I know that I’ll get upset seeing how scared I was.”
“I still get replies to that highlight on my Instagram from people saying ‘I remember you talking about and I didn’t relate to it and now I do because I’m now going through that’ and they’re like ‘can you give me any advice and tips?'”
“I think it definitely hits home, and I think it’s easy to not forget about it but you kind of go on with your life and then you hear a story like that, and especially coming up to breast cancer awareness month in October, I think it just it needs to be continuously spoken about.”
“I think it’s really important as women to keep talking about it, we never know when we’re going to be that person that finds a lump and I think knowing how to check, what to do and I think knowing where to go…”
“I think it’s about not being afraid to actually go and get things checked.”
Rosie also confirmed that she’s launching a campaign with a breast cancer charity in October.
She said: “I can’t talk about it right now but that’s already set in stone and we’ll be launching a campaign in October.”
“My mum having had breast cancer, it’s touched my family, and me having a scare I think it was an absolute no brainer for me.”
Rosie is currently working on the Shop4Crumlin fundraiser in conjunction with One4all.
One4all’s 2021 Shop4Crumlin week runs from this Saturday, September 11, to Sunday, September 19.
50c from each transaction made using a One4all Gift Card or Digital Gift Card during the week will go directly to Children’s Health Foundation Crumlin’s Giggle Fund in CHI at Crumlin.
Speaking about the Giggle Fund, Rosie said: “I remember them telling me, I was asking about this fund, and I said like what is it what do they really use this for so they were explaining how if a child is sick in hospital and they’re able to have their family up for the night they’ll get them a pizza and a movie and they’ll get them all together with their family and their siblings.”
“If it’s Mother’s Day or Father’s day they’ll get a little gift from the child to the parent. I think that’s so important because your childhood goes by so fast and that’s what’s robbed of kids that are long term in hospital or even short term worry.”
“So, that money is so important and I know it’s not going to actual machinery or anything like that but to me that is key in getting kids through any sort of sickness in hospital and just letting them have a childhood within the hospital setting.”
Rosie said it was a “no brainer” to work with One4all on this campaign, and said: “You get to spend your One4all gift card, people are getting something out of it as well, but then the donations are being made at the same time.”
“So I think it’s a lovely kind of collaborative charity event, and hopefully it’s gonna do really really well next week.”
