You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer 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 blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
