Singer Jessie J reveals early breast cancer diagnosis
Singer Jessie J says she has been diagnosed with early breast cancer.
The star, 37, revealed the diagnosis on Instagram saying she was planning on having surgery after her performance at Capital's Summertime Ball, a mini-festival at London's Wembley Stadium, later this month.
The Price Tag singer noted she had been "in and out of tests" in recent times.
"Cancer sucks in any form, but I'm holding on to the word 'early'," she said in a video message.
"It's a very dramatic way to get a boob job," she joked.
"I am going to disappear for a bit after Summertime Ball to have my surgery, and I will come back with massive [boobs] and more music."
The singer, who was announced on Tuesday as one of the acts on the bill at September's Radio 2 in the Park music festival, added that she was going public with the diagnosis in order to help her to process it, and also to show solidarity with others going through something similar.
"I just wanted to be open and share it," she continued. "One, because, selfishly, I do not talk about it enough. I'm not processing it because I'm working so hard.
"I also know how much sharing in the past has helped me with other people giving me their love and support and also their own stories. I'm an open book.
"It breaks my heart that so many people are going through so much similar and worse - that's the bit that kills me."
The performer, who gave birth to a son in 2023, went on to say the diagnosis had given her "incredible perspective".
"But honestly I need to process it and talk about it and, I need a hug," she told fans.
"You have loved me through all my good and hard times. And I don't want this to be any different."
Singer Jessie J reveals OCD and ADHD diagnosis
TV and radio presenter Gaby Roslin replied in the comments, offering "so much love and enormous hugs".
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the UK.
According the NHS website: "It's important to check your breasts regularly so you know what's normal for you.
"This makes it easier to notice any changes in the size, look or feel of your breasts."
Jessie J has had health issues throughout her life, being diagnosed with a heart condition as a child before going on to have a stroke as a teenager and briefly going deaf in 2020 due to Meniere's disease.
Last year she revealed she had been diagnosed with ADHD and OCD.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Water parasite could cost me sight in one eye'
A woman fears she could partially lose her sight after a water parasite "burrowed" into her eye when she went swimming while wearing contact lenses. Nicola Greenfield, of Rendlesham, Suffolk, has been diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis, a painful infection of the cornea - the outer layer that protects the eye. The 58-year-old sought help after her vision became blurred and her right eye started to feel "really sore" and sensitive to light while she was working on her computer. "My vision is incredibly blurred and it feels a bit like getting chilli, lemon juice or bleach in your eye," said Mrs Greenfield, who has had to be signed off work. "The worst case scenario is I lose sight in my right eye and the best case scenario is I lose a little bit – but I am just going to do what I can to try and get better," said Mrs Greenfield. "Since I started treatment it has got a little better, but I am having to wear dark glasses and put blankets against my curtains because I can't bear the light." According to the NHS's Moorfields Eye Hospital website, around two in 100,000 contact lens wearers per year in the UK are diagnosed with acanthamoeba keratitis. The infection is caused by a microscopic organism usually found in bodies of water as well as domestic tap water, swimming pools, hot tubs, soil and air. Some patients can recover within three to six months, while more complicated cases can prove debilitating for as long as a year. Mrs Greenfield was advised to go to Ipswich Hospital after her optician declared she was suffering from a "medical emergency" and needed urgent attention. She has since undergone numerous examinations, biopsies and intensive treatment and has had surgery to remove the top layer of her cornea. "If you wear contact lenses [the parasite] can get trapped behind the lens and start to burrow into the eye," she said. "It is incredibly rare but that, unfortunately, is what's happened to me." Vision Direct says swimming with "contact lenses or getting them wet should be avoided at all times" as doing so can make eyes "vulnerable to contamination by harmful bacteria". Mrs Greenfield, who has worn contact lenses for 40 years, has now warned others to wear goggles and be mindful of purchasing lenses on the internet. "I was always told not to sleep in contact lenses, that was a big no-no, but I don't know why opticians are not telling people not to wear them when they shower or swim," she told the BBC. "Behind the lens is a lovely, warm environment for a germ to breed so people need to be really, really careful. "If I had known then I wouldn't have worn my lenses while swimming." Max Halford, clinical and policy director of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, said opticians "will always advise on how to handle, clean and replace your contact lenses". "Every UK-based contact lens optician should always provide advice on the correct care and usage of contact lenses both at the initial fitting appointment and at every follow up," he said. "We recommend patients always attend their local opticians for routine contact lenses appointments, usually every 24 months or more often if recommended by your eye care professional. "These appointments are a vital part of your eye health regime if you are a contact lens wearer and they are an opportunity for your optician to review and check the correct procedures are being followed for successful contact lens wear. "Always check with the supplier of your contact lenses that after appointments and advice is available including advice on what to do in an emergency." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Woman's eyesight saved by cutting-edge test after mystery infection 'My patients complain about dazzling headlights' 'I never expected I would get to 29 and not see' Moorfields Eye Hospital
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Nurses threaten strikes in vote on ‘grotesque' pay deal
Nurses will consider strike action as a vote on the profession's 'grotesque' 3.6 per cent pay rise opens. Almost 350,000 nurses across the UK will vote on whether to accept or reject the pay award for 2025-26 from Monday. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said it was the biggest single vote of the profession ever launched in the UK. It comes as the Government faces a summer of discontent with doctors already balloting to strike, and teachers and airport staff threatening disruption. Last month, the Government said NHS staff on the agenda for change banding system, which includes nurses, would receive a pay uplift of 3.6 per cent this year, after accepting the recommendation of the pay review body. But the profession was incensed after resident doctors, formerly junior doctors, were told they would be getting 5.4 per cent on average on top of the 22 per cent rise they received last year. The RCN said the award for nurses was 'grotesque' and that the pay rise would be 'entirely swallowed up by inflation'. It said the outcome of the vote would inform its next steps, which could include a ballot to strike. Doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces will all be receiving a bigger increase. The vote will include RCN members working in the NHS in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland, where nurses accepted an eight per cent rise over two years to ensure they remain the best paid in the UK. Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN general secretary, will tell an international conference in Helsinki, Finland, that she is 'with nurses from around the world today asking why it is our ministers in the UK who have once again put nursing at the back of the queue when it comes to pay'. 'Nursing is an incredible career, but despite being the most valued profession by the public we continue to be weighted to the bottom of the NHS pay scale and are set to receive one of the lowest pay awards,' she said. 'It is time to show that nurses are valued and, from today, hundreds of thousands of nursing staff working in the NHS will give their verdict on whether 3.6 per cent is enough.' The RCN said nurses in England had faced more than a decade of pay erosion since 2010-11, with pay down by a quarter in real terms. As a result, there are more than 26,000 unfilled nursing posts, while student recruitment has 'collapsed' and the number quitting is 'skyrocketing', said the Royal College. Nurses went on strike for the first time in NHS history over the winter of 2022-23, staging four separate two-day walkouts. Under strike rules, unions are required to re-ballot members to continue striking every six months. But the RCN did not secure the required turnout of more than 50 per cent of its members, and so lost its mandate to continue striking in 2023 despite remaining in an official dispute with the Government. Its members previously voted to reject the 5.5 per cent pay award for 2024-25 last year, as well as the five per cent in 2023-24 the year before, which also came with a one-off payment of at least £1,655, despite other unions accepting it. Resident doctors are currently balloting to strike again after demanding the 5.4 per cent increase awarded to them for this financial year is nearer to 30 per cent. The ballot closes on July 7, 2025. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Embrace private healthcare to fix the NHS, says former Boots boss
The former boss of Boots has urged the Government to embrace private medical care to fix the NHS, as he backed plans to inject tens of billions of pounds into the struggling health service. Sebastian James, the former Bullingdon Club member who endorsed Labour last year, said Rachel Reeves is right to propose a £30bn funding boost for the NHS as part of her upcoming spending review. However, he urged ministers to use the cash to 'grasp the nettle of private provision', as he said that easing pressure on cash-strapped NHS hospitals was key to reducing waiting lists. Mr James is already working with the NHS to help outsource cataract surgeries as the chief executive of European eye clinic chain Veonet, which runs the SpaMedica business in the UK. But he said Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, must go further and faster on working with the private sector after waiting lists recently rose for the first time in seven months. The backlog now stands at 7.42m, according to data released for the end of March. 'We need radical change that can be achieved by releasing a measurable sum of money,' Mr James, the son of the hereditary peer the 5th Baron Northbourne, told The Telegraph. 'We need a more commercial approach. We have to grasp the nettle of private provision. We understand people's hesitation, but we want to see what's best for the patient.' The suggestion echoes ideas put forward by Richard Tice, Reform UK's deputy leader. He has called for the NHS to buy millions more appointments from the independent sector to help address waiting lists, claiming it could help to clear the appointment backlog within two years. This would go further than the Government's current pledge to offer up to a million extra appointments in private hospitals. Yet such ideas are controversial as they will stoke fears of creeping privatisation of the NHS and raise concerns about potential profiteering. Mr James said: 'There are questions about private companies making money. But it's all about how do you square that? 'There are two key things. One, it will still be free at the point of use. And two, the price will be cheaper than what is offered by the public healthcare system.' Mr James has already held talks with Whitehall officials about his plans for the NHS and he said the Chancellor is right to unleash a significant one-off sum. 'You should borrow to pay for it,' said Mr James, suggesting that £20bn or £30bn would barely move the dial when it comes to the country's £2.8 trillion debt pile. However, it comes at a time when the Chancellor is already facing a struggle to balance the books. Ms Reeves will this week deliver her spending review, which is widely expected to unlock an extra £30bn for the NHS over a three-year period. That will be at the expense of other public services, as she is also plotting real-terms cuts to day-to-day spending across many Whitehall departments. Such pressures have emerged because of the Chancellor's fiscal rules, which prevent her from borrowing to fund day-day-day spending. However, Mr James believes that borrowing to fix the waiting list crisis would do far greater good than harm. He said that SpaMedica's role in providing eye services for the NHS should be a blueprint for ministers to work from, as the company claims to have helped cut waiting times for cataract surgery from 18 months to two weeks since Covid. It now provides around 70pc of eye care referrals from the NHS, and last year helped to restore the sight of around 200,000 patients. While it has helped to cut waiting times, SpaMedica is one of many private cataract clinics facing claims of profiteering after they allegedly inflated costs for procedures. A leaked document from the Health Department, first reported by The Sunday Times, alleged that SpaMedica classed its patients as 'higher complexity', which led to procedures being more expensive than they needed to be. Campaigners point to the fact that SpaMedica's profits rose from £63.9m to £71.8m in its last financial year, which they say is proof of the company taking the taxpayer for a ride. SpaMedica has denied any wrongdoing. However, such allegations reflect the fierce debate surrounding privatisation of the NHS, with many households uncomfortable with the prospect of independent providers making a profit while providing medical services, even if they are free for patients. Mr James, who ran Boots from 2018 to 2024, is adamant that ministers must ignore such complaints if they are to have any hope of reducing waiting lists. 'We have cut waiting times down from 18 months to two to three weeks,' said Mr James. 'We have eaten away our waiting list.' This is particularly key for Sir Keir Starmer, who has pledged that 92pc of NHS patients will get an appointment within 18 weeks by the end of the current parliament in 2029. Ultimately, Mr James argues that private healthcare must be embraced because it is far more efficient than the NHS. He said that SpaMedica clinics carry out more than 20 cataract surgeries a day, which is almost double that of NHS hospitals. The fees are also cheaper, he said, as each cataract operation costs SpaMedica £980, compared to around £1,400 on the NHS. 'We've shown that we can do it in our industry, but we need to broaden it out,' he said. 'We could take it area by area, whether that be knee replacements or treating melanomas. 'By working with private healthcare providers, the solution is to save the NHS money. 'We understand people's hesitation, but we want to see what's best for the patient. We're not talking about eradicating the NHS, it's about a partnership.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.