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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an performance 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 tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending 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 collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees