You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, 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, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking 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 said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
