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You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the audience.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, 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 outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? 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 youth, already beginning performing in the stage 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 rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees