You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band the group while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
