You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
