You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ 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 positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
