You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
