You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
