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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.

“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged 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 fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her childhood, already beginning starring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees