You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, birth name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, 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 coping with her cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, referencing the movie. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I like entertaining. On stage I often tease the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she explains it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. That’s not fucking great timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She found the surgery scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my right breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is for health and appearance. Her breasts, she notes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already beginning starring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and teenage Jess has become part of the girl group Soul Deep while attending the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a stroke. Then when I was about to put out music in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
