You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
