You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but then 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 fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. 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 obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio the group while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
