You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, losing a baby, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time dealing with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on 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 fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). 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 irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has entered the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
