You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. There she was preparing for her new album launch in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the parent to a young child after dealing with conception issues for a decade, feeling invincible. Suddenly in March she was found to have breast cancer.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is known for being brutally honest. The album, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last worked on songs (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and Cornish was speaking publicly about how she was thriving, while at the same time coping with the disease. A month later she disclosed her condition, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” expression. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m giving every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with ornate white designs, cream boots and large glasses. Imagine motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, irreverent and filter-free. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is aiming for her standup debut next year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an scan, and they said, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ The date was March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after eight years without an album and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘A video call, likely minor.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she says, ‘You might want to sit.’ That sympathetic voice? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”
Men have called me difficult because I’m a strong person who understands who I am
She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but now I just strolled down with a gown on and my backside out. It felt surreal.” But, she notes, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Thank fuck I found it early. I had the mastectomy recently and my one side 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 remarks, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I felt, why make it worse, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Past Medical Issues
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to highlight not to be complacent. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘Enjoying yourself? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has consistently accompanied high points for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the cardiac issue a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as vertigo and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and being readmitted at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has become part of the trio Soul Deep while studying at the academy. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I lost my voice for a year.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
