You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown 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. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
