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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”

She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

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