You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was preparing for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The LP, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later next release, Living My Best Life, debuted in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with the disease. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m giving every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a tan faux-leather coat, jeans with ornate white designs, beige footwear and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the movie. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is sharp-witted, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the audience.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after 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 convinced herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after years away and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They walk you down. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now resembles a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. So inconsiderate! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Honestly, 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 recalls to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the West End in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending 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 throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
