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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

She was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees