You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call expecting 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 reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band the group while attending the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a year.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
