You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was thriving, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. 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 basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ 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 considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation 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 thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
