You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
