You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I 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 terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
