You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The first single, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but now I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
