You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time dealing with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, acting as a reminder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and young Jessica has entered the female band the group while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
