You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“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 assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
