You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio the group while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, 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 was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
