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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

The artist was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut starring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has entered the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees