You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group the group while attending the performing arts 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 automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
