You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, 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 breast cancer.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio the group while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
