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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ 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 scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

Past Medical Issues

She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group the group while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees