You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while living with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen 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 vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
