You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness 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, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in thinking 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 test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
