‘It has taught me to embrace life more’: Jessica Cornish on cancer, comebacks and cracking China

You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.

She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

She was planning an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees