You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with the disease. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-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 assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just marched with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning featuring in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. 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.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
