You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing 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 an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side 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. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
