You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
