You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while living with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an appearance at the ceremony 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, ‘However, it’s there. 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?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
