You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
