You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, 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 flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
