You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought 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 frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “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 resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning starring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
