You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
