You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. There she was gearing up for her first album release in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her recent boyfriend, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The artist, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an open book, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, losing a baby, failed relationships, emotional abuse, suicide) with typical candour. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, Living My Best Life, came out in May and Cornish was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while at the same time living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she underwent breast removal surgery.
She offers me her best “Seriously?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photo studio in the capital. She is dressed in a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with ornate white designs, off-white boots and big frames. Picture biker chic meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Easy Rider, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She grins. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the crowd.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
Cornish was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an test, and they were, like, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I insisted, ‘However, it’s there. My arm hurts and numbness in my fingers whenever I rise.’ And they said, ‘How about a biopsy?’ That was 28 March, the day after my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was bad news she’d call on the start of the week. By then the singer had assured herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was simply too inconvenient to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after years away and an extended break. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she reveals, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have come back as aggressive cancer.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness
She considered the operation scary and bizarre. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but then I just strolled down with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. Without chemo or radio, just the surgery. “It’s terrible, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The next operation is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Ironically I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so positive because she’s experienced in physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her childhood, already starting her career starring in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and palpitations. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and 17-year-old Jess has entered the girl group the group while enrolled in the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Wow, I say, hold on, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees
