You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
