You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I 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 scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just marched 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 Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
