You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine years old). 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 palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
