You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt 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 hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just marched 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. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
