You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
