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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was planning an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘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 scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

Previous Struggles

She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her youth, already beginning performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees