You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but then 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 blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? 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 recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing 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 Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
