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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; 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 wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on 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 she had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful 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 scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! 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 ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees