You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. 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 hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep 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 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
