You can’t imagine it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
