You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ 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 terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
