You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. 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. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
