You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love 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 cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
