You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a odd shape.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. 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. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
