You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was told she had a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was intended as an open book, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, miscarriage, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicide) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Later next release, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while at the same time coping with breast cancer. Subsequently she shared the news, and in early July she had a mastectomy.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
Our interview takes place at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and oversized specs. Imagine biker chic meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She beams. Jessie is quick, bold and blunt. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her initial standup show in the coming year. “I like entertaining. During performances I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm 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 following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then Cornish had assured herself it was nothing. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.
“It was a fortnight prior from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in believing it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s used to health crises. Frequently they align with career highs, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to take anything for granted. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career starring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem WPW, which can cause a tachycardia as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
