You can’t imagine it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for ten years, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later second single, her song Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine biker chic 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, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
Cornish was getting ready for an performance at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 fear going under. They lead you. During crises you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
