You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was readying for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, addressing every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, suicide) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was talking to press about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. A month later she shared the news, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, denim trousers with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an slot at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after a long hiatus and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I assumed, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you go on a gurney, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal recently and my one side now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. How offensive! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the trio the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
