You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
