You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. 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 good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record 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 voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
