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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells 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 the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am

She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Previous Struggles

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees