You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘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 weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
