You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while living with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ 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 photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation 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 now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because 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.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
