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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 struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior 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 assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

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

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

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