You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
