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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees