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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘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, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees