You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing 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, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went 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. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. 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 assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined 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 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
