You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an open book, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group the group while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
