You wouldn’t believe it, the singer remarks. At that moment readying for her new album launch in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was supposed to be an open book, addressing every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicide) with her usual frankness. The first single, No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, debuted in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while all the while dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and big frames. Think rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I frequently joke about the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was preparing for an appearance at the Baftas when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your breasts are normal.’ And I responded, ‘Yet I sense it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I assumed, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she continues, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have come back as malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. You’re escorted. During crises you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The implant is larger than before. So inconsiderate! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ From a young age, it has consistently accompanied achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in a musical (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group the group while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a long period.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
