You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘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 viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted 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
