You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
