You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing 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, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
