You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored 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 spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, addressing every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Then second single, Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and the artist was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the audience.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It appears fine; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘How about a biopsy?’ 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 start of the week. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after eight years without an album and an extended break. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your reports have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘That’s unfortunate. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but this time I just marched with a medical attire and my rear exposed. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. The surgery happened recently and my one side now resembles a odd shape.” A further beam. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is therapeutic and aesthetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is familiar with health problems. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her youth, already making her debut featuring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has become part of the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in 2020 I had a collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I am overwhelmed. At just 17? She nods|agrees
