You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was readying for her first album release in eight years, deeply enamored with her current love, and finally the mom to a little one after struggling to conceive for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in spring she was diagnosed with cancer in her breast.
The artist, real name Jessica Cornish, is renowned for being brutally honest. The record, her latest release, was meant as an candid account, dealing with every moment of pain she’d endured since she last recorded music (endometriosis, losing a baby, failed relationships, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was dropped in April. 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 the artist was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly living with the disease. Four weeks after she shared the news, and in July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every media appearance, and they inquire, ‘What’s happening?’ and I respond, ‘Well, not much…’” she has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.
We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is dressed in a light brown synthetic jacket, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, cream boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “I feel like I’m in the 70s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Easy Rider, I say, recalling the movie. “They used to call me that!” She beams. Jessie is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is hoping to make her standup debut in the coming year. “I love making people laugh. When performing I often tease the audience.”
Personal Battles and News
The artist was preparing for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I promptly visited to get it looked at, had an ultrasound, and they were, like, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I responded, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and tingling in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they suggested, ‘We should biopsy it?’ 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 call on the Monday. By then Cornish had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was just bad timing to face illness when she had a busy schedule.
“We’re two weeks away from launching this thing after years away and four years without a single. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have come back as malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”
I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself
She considered the operation frightening and surreal. “I dislike anesthesia. You’re escorted. You know when you have emergency surgery you go on a gurney, but this time I just walked with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been fortunate. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the op. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my one side now looks like a grapefruit under a tight bedsheet.” She smiles again. “The nipple was preserved.”
The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her boobs, she observes, are now “uneven. The implant is larger than before. How rude! I reflected, no need to bully me, I’m already having a difficult experience. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got OCD, and I know they’d never be perfect. Cancer ruined that plan.”
A History of Health Challenges
She is no stranger to illness. She thinks her outlook on her diagnosis has been so upbeat because she’s familiar with medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, acting as a reminder, or blow, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Frankly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Sit down.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”
She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut starring in the West End in a musical (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was found to have the heart condition a syndrome, which can cause a fast heartbeat as well as dizziness and palpitations. “I rehearsed between visits on an intravenous line, and going back into hospital at night.” She skips forward six years, and young Jessica has entered 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 about to put out music in 2020 I had a car crash and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”
Oi, I say, hold on, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
