You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call 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 reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down 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 procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
