You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. 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 good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia 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 entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
