You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. There she was preparing for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. A month later she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. She is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. On stage I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. 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. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
