You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, 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 March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. 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 twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
