You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but now 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 adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. 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 used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
