You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
