You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s 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 beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album 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 expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, 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 long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
