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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.

The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the audience.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees