You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically 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
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
