You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning starring in the West End in a musical (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 rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
