You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the West End in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio the group while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
