Who was Rosie?

Rosie Choueka was a loving mother, wife and a highly talented lawyer.

In June 2014 Rosie found a lump in her left breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as triple negative breast cancer. However, she refused to use the word ‘cancer’ describing the disease as ‘Genghis’ because, as she put it, it was “aggressive, moves fast and wants to take over.”

You can learn more about Rosie here.

Rosie’s Blog

She began writing a private journal but not long after beginning chemotherapy she published the blog online, calling it Fighting Genghis. Over the course of 11 months Rosie documented her ups and downs through treatment and the terrible realisation that the disease had returned and spread.  She was frank and her observations were moving, heart breaking and even funny.

She touched so many people that the blog went viral and was picked up by news organisations including The Huffington Post and The Independent. Fighting Genghis was also nominated for awards.

In the final days of her life Rosie requested that a charity be set up in her memory focusing on research into secondary breast cancer.

Secondary1st

After her death in June 2015, her husband Elliot, their family and friends launched Secondary1st.

“We will tenaciously raise as much money as we can to enable the brightest people in secondary breast cancer research to pursue the answers that are so terribly needed,” Elliot said. “The answer to why women develop secondary breast cancer and how the disease can be cured.”