You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. 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 perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
