You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
