You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J remarks. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial 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 hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
