You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly 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
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has entered the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
