You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
