You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was supposed to be an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was planning an performance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and teenage Jess has joined the trio the group while attending the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
