You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning featuring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band the group while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
