You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning featuring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
