You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘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 serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought 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 frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just marched 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 lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning starring in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
