You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt 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 terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the West End in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
