You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ 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 goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, 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 beginning starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
