You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
