You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
