You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, 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 diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping 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?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. 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. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
