You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an appearance 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 was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior 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, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful 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 considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group 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 recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
