You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I 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 found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
