You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘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?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
