You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an appearance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with health crises. Frequently they align with professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning starring in the London theater in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several 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 about to put out music in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
