You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, 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 the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit 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 voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
