You can’t imagine it, the singer states. At that moment gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The illness. Later follow-up track, her song Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time living with her cancer. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the picture. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Cornish is fast-thinking, bold and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was planning an appearance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d contact on the Monday. By then the singer had convinced herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a hospital gown and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s used to medical emergencies. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel the universe whispers, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Hey, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
