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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was planning an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album 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 says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

She is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

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