You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jess Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already beginning performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
