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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.

The artist, actual name J. Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”

Health Struggles and Diagnosis

The artist was planning an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”

Past Medical Issues

She is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She reminisces to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a year.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees