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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group 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 planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”

Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees