You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an transparent story, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project 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 join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. The surgery happened a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
