You couldn’t make it up, Jessie J says. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. 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 basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
