You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought 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 considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the West End in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
