You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was intended as an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, 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! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
