You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
