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You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.

The singer-songwriter, actual name J. Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.

“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”

She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”

Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees