You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
