You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! 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.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
