You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
