You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because 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
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
