You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
