You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album 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, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “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. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
