You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her standup debut soon. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now looks like a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
