You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ 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 the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
