You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing 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, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
