You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus 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 join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
