You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while all the while coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was planning an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then she had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after a long hiatus and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but now I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “It’s terrible, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! 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.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a 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 couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
