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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now looks like 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 remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her youth, already beginning starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees