You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. 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 considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
