You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “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. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected 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 vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
