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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

She is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

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