You wouldn’t believe it, the singer states. There she was preparing for her comeback record in nearly a decade, deeply enamored with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after facing fertility challenges for a decade, riding high. Suddenly in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, real name Jess Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was intended as an transparent story, tackling every ounce of devastation she’d faced since she last recorded music (a gynecological condition, miscarriage, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The first single, her single No Secrets, was launched in the spring. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then second single, Living My Best Life, was released in late spring and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while still secretly coping with her cancer. A month later she went public, and in July she received surgical treatment.
She gives me her best “What the fuck?” glance. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every press talk, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Well, not much…’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is sporting a beige fake-leather jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Imagine motorcycle style meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” A biker reference, I say, thinking of the picture. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. She is quick, bold and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. When performing I often tease the fans.”
Personal Battles and News
She was getting ready for an appearance at the ceremony when she discovered a mass. “I immediately went to get it looked at, had an test, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I have arm pain and numbness in my fingers whenever I get up.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the post-birthday.” It was a Friday. The specialist told her if it was serious she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had persuaded herself it was okay. The way she tells it, it was inopportune to face illness when she had so much on.
“Just two weeks before from debuting the project after years away and four years without a single. And she [the doctor] texted and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I join the call believing it’s all going to be positive, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your reports have shown malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I said, ‘Well, that’s not great. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt 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 viewed the procedure terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They lead you. In urgent cases you go on a gurney, but this time I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I underwent removal a few months back and my one side now appears as a fruit under fabric.” Another grin. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she observes, are now “different sizes. They didn’t do an implant as small as my original. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”
A History of Health Challenges
The singer is no stranger to illness. She thinks her attitude toward illness has been so optimistic because she’s used to physical challenges. Frequently they align with professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Ever since I was a child, it has often paired with moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has affected my well-being.”
She reminisces to her 11-year-old self, already starting her career featuring in the London theater in a musical (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 lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I was going in and out of rehearsals on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She skips forward several years, and young Jessica has entered the trio Soul Deep while enrolled in the performing arts school. “I secured a deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a collision and my throat was injured and I was unable to vocalize for a year.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees
