You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ 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 go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group the group while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
