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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

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