You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group the group while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
