You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career performing in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record 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 larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
