You wouldn’t believe 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 mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth 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 faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged 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 positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
