You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, 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 still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom 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 says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
