You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The record, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an open book, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” expression. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 70s 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 grins. Jessie is fast-thinking, bold and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an slot at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after years away and no new music. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation 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 marched with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. Illness changed that.”
Previous Struggles
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already beginning starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards six years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the girl group the group while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
