You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while still secretly living with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then Cornish 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 debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has joined the female band Soul Deep 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 recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
