You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘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.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. 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 ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
