You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, 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 told she had breast cancer.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album 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 believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
