You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio the group while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
