You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
