You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. 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, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. 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 flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
