You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees