You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have breast cancer.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. 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, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside 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, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
