You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘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 post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
