You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The record, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Jessie is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
She was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an scan, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was fine. 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 contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically 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
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the London theater in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward several years, and teenage Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
