You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus 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 log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
