You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, 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 hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
