Jessie J has revealed she felt her breast cancer battle “robbed” her of precious time with her young son, as she opened up about her health struggles in a candid new podcast.
The Price Tag singer, 37, who shares two-year-old Sky with her partner, basketball player Chanan Safir Colman, underwent a full mastectomy in June after doctors detected the disease early.
Speaking on Jamie Laing’s Great Company podcast, Jessie admitted the hardest part of treatment was being away from her child.
“Yesterday I sobbed. I feel like I can’t be a mum to my son and I miss him. I feel like cancer has robbed me of memories with my boy,” she said. “I’ve missed things during treatment and stuff moves so fast when you have a toddler. Some days are awful.”
The Price Tag star recalled the terrifying moments after finding a lump and undergoing a biopsy. Initially reassured it was likely a cyst, she was left devastated when doctors told her it was cancer.
“When they told me I just burst into tears,” she said. “The lump was about 4-5cm. I had moments where I thought, ‘this is going to go left and I’m going to die.’”
Despite the fear, Jessie said her career gave her strength. Her last performance before surgery was at Capital’s Summertime Ball.
“I told the crowd it was my last show before going off to beat cancer and the whole place erupted. It felt like a huge hug,” she recalled. “When I was put to sleep for surgery, I replayed that moment in my head.”
The star has since spoken about breaking down when she first saw her scars, but said she was “so happy to be alive” after waking up from surgery and reuniting with her boyfriend.
Doctors confirmed she would not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy but she faces further operations to aid her recovery.
Jessie said the experience has reshaped her outlook on life. “When you go through something like cancer people say, ‘you’ve changed.’ But I think it just makes you act on things you already wanted. Life is short. I want to write books, do a kids’ album, take my family on holiday.”
She added that her son Sky has been the “light of her life” throughout the ordeal, keeping her motivated as she prepares to release new music later this month.
