You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was meant as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful 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 viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band the group while studying at the academy. “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 automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
