You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicide) with characteristic openness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while coping with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I 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 dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while enrolled in the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
