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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she 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 wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

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

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my backside 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 surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees