You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
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 scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
