You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
