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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. 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.”

Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees