You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk 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 reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
