You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in spring she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior 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, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I 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 scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in the production (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
