You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning featuring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
