You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought 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 hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ 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 takes me back to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
