You can’t imagine it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a 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 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ 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 viewed the procedure 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 marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
