You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was dropped in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and big frames. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ 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 found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery 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 thinks her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career performing in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
