You couldn’t make it up, the singer states. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her newish partner, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for a decade, on top of the world. Suddenly in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was meant as an candid account, tackling every moment of pain she’d faced since she last worked on songs (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with characteristic openness. The lead track, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Then next release, Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while still secretly coping with the disease. Subsequently she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out 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 respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We meet at a photo studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and large glasses. Picture motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. Jessie is quick, irreverent and blunt. She says she has always been interested in humor and is planning to attempt her standup debut soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Health Struggles and Diagnosis
Cornish was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it examined, had an test, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘How about a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after a long hiatus and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ That sympathetic voice? And she says, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘That’s unfortunate. The timing is terrible.’ My initial 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. You’re escorted. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but then I just walked with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she adds, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal recently and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. So inconsiderate! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. How offensive! 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. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She believes her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Frequently they align with peak moments, functioning as a wake-up call, or blow, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Since childhood, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a major or strange event has affected my well-being.”
She takes me back 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 nine). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, slow down, I am overwhelmed. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
