You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, her song Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news 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 just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has joined the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “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 collision and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
