You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, 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 perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning performing in the London theater in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
