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You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was intended as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

She was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. 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 okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched 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 lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”

Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees