You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial 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 frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
