You can’t imagine it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was intended as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she 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 beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after 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 the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial 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 scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
