You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several 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 brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
