You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis 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 join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
