You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while living with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
