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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, 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 found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

Previous Struggles

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

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