You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, 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 performing in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage 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 cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
