You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial 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 hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band the group while attending the performing arts school. “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 throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
