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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

Cornish was planning an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking 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, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! 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 perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her youth, already starting her career starring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “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 car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”

Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees