You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, 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 at the same time coping with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now 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. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
