You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “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 frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
