You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered 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. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
