You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
