You can’t imagine it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
