You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought 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 terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right 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 boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
