You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense 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?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with 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 fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “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 automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
