You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
