You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was planning an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band the group while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
