You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was readying for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Then in spring she was told she had breast cancer.
The artist, birth name Jess Cornish, is renowned for speaking her mind. The LP, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d endured since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Then second single, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I come out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s still waiting for follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance soon. “I like entertaining. During performances I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was getting ready for an performance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your tissue is healthy.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had so much on.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and no new music. And she contacted me and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have come back as high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I replied, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just marched with a gown on and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “Cancer is awful, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy four months ago and my affected breast now looks like a odd shape.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
Previous Struggles
The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was told about the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a tachycardia as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a stroke. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a car crash and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Hey, I say, slow down, I need a moment. At just 17? She nods|agrees
