You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. 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. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
