You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish 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 career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
