🔗 Share this article

You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “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 aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

She was planning an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.

“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”

Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees