You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk 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 positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, 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 perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
