You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. 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 ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
