You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however 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. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
