You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; 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 wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I 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 hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a 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 couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
