You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist 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 disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts 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 following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen 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 tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
