You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
