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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the audience.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

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

She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her childhood, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees