You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened 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 for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
