You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, 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 still secretly coping with the disease. A month later she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went 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. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought 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 found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career starring in the stage 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 tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit 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 car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
