You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “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 call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and young Jessica has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
