You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s 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. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful 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 found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
