You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released 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 she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
