You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
