You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out 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 yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer 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, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
