You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist 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 describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
