You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts 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 car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
