You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning performing in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital 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 stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
