You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
