You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, 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 worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial 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 frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
