You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
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, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news 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 receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band the group while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
