You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group the group while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
