You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
