You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I 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 dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
