You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ 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 found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning performing in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
