You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘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 informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great 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 found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
