You can’t imagine it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in eight years, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and finally the mother of a toddler after facing fertility challenges for a decade, on top of the world. Then in spring she was found to have cancer in her breast.
The musician, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with her usual frankness. The lead track, No Secrets, was dropped in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Later second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while at the same time living with breast cancer. A month later she went public, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for reconstructive surgery.
We’re at a studio in the capital. She is wearing a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “As if I’m in the 70s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, referencing the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is quick, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an test, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And she contacted me and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I thought, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you are wheeled, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened recently and my affected breast now appears as a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she remarks, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be perfect. My plans were disrupted.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in health crises. Frequently they align with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with high points for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut starring in the London theater in Whistle Down the Wind (she was chosen at the age of 9). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has become part of the female band the group while attending the Brit School. “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 collision and my larynx moved up and I couldn’t sing for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
