You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put 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’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ 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 scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, 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 lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
