You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away 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 expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down 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. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
