You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
