You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She 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 professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
