You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
