You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio the group while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
