You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already starting her career performing in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
