You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because 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
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
