You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
