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You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love 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. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

We meet at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”

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