You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on 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. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ 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 takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
