You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ 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 serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, 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 jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
