You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was preparing for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after struggling to conceive for ten years, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, birth name Jessica Cornish, is famous for speaking her mind. The record, her latest release, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, unsuccessful partnerships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, debuted in late spring and the artist was talking to press about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with the disease. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Seriously?” glance. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with ornate white designs, cream boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is fast-thinking, irreverent and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her first comedy performance next year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I basically roast the crowd.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it looked at, had an scan, and they told me, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had assured herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘You might want to sit.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer is awful, but yet Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal four months ago and my one side now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with peak moments, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; a major or strange event has impacted my body.”
She recalls to her childhood, already beginning starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine). That’s when she was told about the medical problem a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has joined the girl group the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
