You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked 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 op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
