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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, 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 cancer in her breast.

The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees