You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ 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 frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning performing in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). 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 palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
