You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is fast-thinking, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and tingling 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 doctor told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or shock, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition 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 drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
