You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture 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, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, 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 assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient 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 contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. 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 frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
