You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
