You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ 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 considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
