You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while living with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, 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. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees