You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
