You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
