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 current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“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, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly 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 familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
