You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, her latest release, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later next release, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and big frames. Picture motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced 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 releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is familiar with health problems. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with physical challenges. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut performing in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
