You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ 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 considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
