You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while living with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Think biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was planning an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened a few months back and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio the group while studying at 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 automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a year.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
