You wouldn’t believe it, Jessie J states. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic 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, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on 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. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
