You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great 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 found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly 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
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
