You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
