You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an performance 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 tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the 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 academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
