You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released 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 Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an performance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘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.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already making her debut starring in the West End 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 vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and teenage Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
