You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, 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. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. 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 basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
