‘It has taught me to embrace life more’: Jessica Cornish on cancer, career returns and conquering the Chinese market

You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”

Previous Struggles

She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut starring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees