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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees