You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, 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 obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning featuring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
