You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group the group while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
