You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles 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 weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees