You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment readying for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. 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.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ 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 hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer 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 punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio the group while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees