You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
