You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut performing in the stage 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 tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
