You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment preparing for her first album release in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.
The musician, actual name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an open book, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The cancer. Then next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly coping with her cancer. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they ask, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Think biker chic meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance soon. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from releasing the album after years away 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 join the call thinking it’s all going to be good, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your reports have indicated malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been lucky. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however I’m grateful it was caught soon. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her boobs, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. 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 never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She believes her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or blow, to make her recall not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with achievements for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the stage in the production (she was cast at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I secured a deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was ready to debut in 2020 I had a car crash and my voice box shifted and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
