You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has entered the female band the group while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
