You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘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 reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut starring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
