You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her first album release in eight years, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Suddenly in spring she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The singer-songwriter, real name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last made an album (endometriosis, miscarriage, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. The illness. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with breast cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in early July she received surgical treatment.
She offers me her best “What the fuck?” look. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, off-white boots and large glasses. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “It seems like I’m in the seventies and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the picture. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
The artist was preparing for an performance at the awards show when she noticed an abnormality. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d call on the Monday. By then Cornish had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she describes it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be good, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have shown high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. The timing is terrible.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a gown on and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my affected breast now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “At least the nipple remains.”
The subsequent surgery is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she observes, are now “uneven. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! It’s funny because I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
Cornish is accustomed to medical issues. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so positive because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. They have often coincided with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has always gone alongside high points for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her youth, already making her debut performing in the West End in a musical (she was cast 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 lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and being readmitted at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has entered the girl group Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in recently I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Hey, I say, hold on, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
