You can’t imagine it, the singer states. At that moment readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she 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 light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and large glasses. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you are wheeled, but then I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s used to health crises. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back to her youth, already beginning starring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
