You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ 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, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases 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 adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band the group while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
