You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
