You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I 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 scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in 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 automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
