You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
