You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful 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 scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
