You couldn’t make it up, the singer remarks. At that moment preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her newish partner, and at long last the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, feeling invincible. Then in March she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is famous for telling it as it is. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an candid account, dealing with every ounce of devastation she’d experienced since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, unsuccessful partnerships, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with characteristic openness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. Her diagnosis. Later next release, her song Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was enjoying life to the fullest, while still secretly living with breast cancer. Subsequently she went public, and in July she had a mastectomy.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” expression. “I release with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every interview, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Uh, nothing really’” Cornish has just had to postpone shows because she’s yet to undergo follow-up surgery.
We’re at a studio in London. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and big frames. Imagine rocker vibe meets vintage look. “It seems like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “That’s what people called me at school!” She grins. She is quick, bold and filter-free. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. On stage I basically roast the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the ceremony when she noticed an abnormality. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, 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’ve got an achy arm and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ That was 28 March, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The doctor told her if it was serious she’d contact on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was nothing. The way she tells it, it was just bad timing to receive a diagnosis when she had many commitments.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I thought, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I log in thinking it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. They lead you. In urgent cases you roll down in a bed, but now I just walked with a hospital gown and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the procedure. “Cancer is awful, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” A further beam. “At least the nipple remains.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she notes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, why make it worse, I’m already having a difficult experience. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is accustomed to medical issues. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in physical challenges. They have often coincided with professional successes, functioning as a wake-up call, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She recalls to her 11-year-old self, already making her debut performing in the West End in the production (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the medical problem Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and being readmitted at night.” She jumps ahead half a dozen years, and young Jessica has entered the female band Soul Deep while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
