You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? 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. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
