‘It has taught me to embrace life more’: Jessica Cornish on her health battle, comebacks and conquering the Chinese market

You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.

The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees