You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, 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 doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ 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 positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. 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, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning starring in the West End in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
