You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Jessie is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now appears as 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. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees