You can’t imagine it, Jessie J says. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right 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 chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, 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 diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
