Jessie J has admitted she ‘p**sed off a lot of people’ when she decided to postpone her cancer treatment so she could perform.
The 37-year-old, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, revealed she was diagnosed with ‘early breast cancer’ in June.
Just a week later, she performed at the Capital Summertime Ball and announced it would be her last show before she underwent surgery.
However, she has since confirmed that she postponed her operation in order to do the gig as it was ‘going to impact her personally’.
‘I feel guilty that not everyone who has to have cancer surgery gets that moment,’ Jessie told Women’s Health.
‘There were 80,000 people cheering, not because I could sing well or wore an outfit they liked. It was: we love you, we’re behind you and we hope this goes well…We’re not handcuffed to having to sit down and be quiet and cry because we’ve got cancer. I’m going to sing Bang Bang as loud as I can.’
At the time Jessie shared she was ‘going to disappear for a bit’ after Summertime Ball in order to have her surgery.
While on stage, she delivered an emotional speech, sharing it would be her ‘last show before I go and have surgery and all the things’
She added: ‘I’m so grateful for this life, for you guys, for my career, my son, my partner, my parents, my family, my band, my crew, my people…
‘We’re so lucky; we have so much to live for.’
Jessie underwent a mastectomy, which the Domino singer joked had left her with ‘wonky boobs’, creating a little difficulty with her outfits until she ‘matches them up’.
Her diagnosis meant she had to postpone (and cancel) part of her upcoming tour, although she did release her album titled Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time.
In the Women’s Health interview, Jessie said she had decided to share such details about her health in hopes of changing the narrative around cancer.
‘”No one wants to see you look rough. And come back when it’s all done, and everything’s great.” That ain’t me,’ she shared.
‘Even when I had the miscarriage, I did a show the next day. I sat on stage and I was grieving – and that was the show.’
Jessie has since undergone further surgery and treatment, revealing that she has been given the ok by doctors as she returned to performing.
While at the Music Industry Trust Awards at the Grosvenor Hotel last month, she reflected on the year which has ‘changed my whole world’.
‘My perspective, what battles I’m going to pick,’ she said. ‘When death comes knocking at your door, and you kind of have to answer and f***ing kick it away, it just changes everything.’
The full Jessie J interview can be read in the Jan/Feb issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale from 23 December.
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