You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career performing in the West End in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
