You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
