You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
