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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had breast cancer.

The musician, birth name J. Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.

We’re at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the crowd.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “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 was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

A History of Health Challenges

Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”

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