You can’t imagine it, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with her cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ 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 start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. 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 years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. 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! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has entered the trio 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 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
