You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
