You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with the disease. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, 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 throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
