You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before 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, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, 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! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
