You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. 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 describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
