You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was planning an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ 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 serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! 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 flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “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 collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
