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You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) 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. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the audience.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.

“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

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

She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”

The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

She is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees