You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and no new music. 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 jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, 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 chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
