You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
