You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
