You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling 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 weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. 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 expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group the group while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
