‘It has pushed me to live more fully’: Jessie J on cancer, comebacks and conquering the Chinese market

You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.

“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ 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 fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 hate being put 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 backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, 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. My plans were disrupted.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees