You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
