You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
