You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while coping with her cancer. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain 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 weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after a long hiatus 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 join the call expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I 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 lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a gown on and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut featuring in the West End in a musical (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
