You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
