You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat 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. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending 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 the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
