You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought 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 terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
