You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last made an album (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every press talk, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the picture. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. During crises you are wheeled, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my right breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is familiar with health problems. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career performing in the stage in a musical (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
