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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record 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, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success 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 performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”

Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees