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You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.

The singer-songwriter, real name J. Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.

She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.

We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

Cornish was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”

Previous Struggles

The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the West End in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”

Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees