You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
