You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
