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 at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, 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 persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? 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 therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
