🔗 Share this article

You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

She was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “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 considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with 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 London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while attending 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 recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees