You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought 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 terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group 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 planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
