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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

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