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You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just walked 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. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. 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 rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”

Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees