You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch 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, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on 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 hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, 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 notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio the group while enrolled in the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
