You can’t imagine it, the singer remarks. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in nearly a decade, ecstatically in love with her current love, and finally the mother of a toddler after dealing with conception issues for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in March she was found to have a breast cancer diagnosis.
The musician, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The record, Don’t Tease Me With a Good Time, was intended as an transparent story, dealing with every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last made an album (a gynecological condition, pregnancy loss, broken romances, psychological manipulation, mental health struggles) with her usual frankness. The lead track, the song No Secrets, was released in the spring. But by then there was a mighty secret. The cancer. Later follow-up track, the upbeat Living My Best Life, came out in late spring and she was giving interviews about how she was thriving, while still secretly dealing with the disease. Four weeks after she disclosed her condition, and in early July she underwent breast removal surgery.
She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I release with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they ask, ‘What’s happening?’ and I’m, like, ‘Uh, nothing really’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.
We’re at a photography studio in the capital. She is sporting a light brown synthetic jacket, denim trousers with elaborate white patches, cream boots and oversized specs. Think motorcycle style meets vintage look. “I feel like I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” Like the film, I say, referencing the film. “That’s what people called me at school!” She smiles. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance in the coming year. “I enjoy humor. During performances I often tease the fans.”
Medical Challenges and Discovery
She was planning an performance at the awards show when she found a lump. “I quickly sought to get it checked, had an test, and they told me, ‘It seems benign; your breasts are normal.’ And I was, like, ‘Yet I sense it. I have arm pain and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then Cornish 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.
“Just two weeks before from releasing the album after eight years without an album and no new music. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Is six okay?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I jump on the Zoom believing it’s all going to be positive, and she says, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she reveals, ‘I regret to inform you but your test results have indicated malignant cells.’” What was your reaction? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I 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 viewed the procedure frightening and surreal. “I hate being put under. They walk you down. In urgent cases you are wheeled, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. Without chemo or radio, just the op. “It’s terrible, but yet I’m grateful it was caught soon. The surgery happened four months ago and my right breast now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “I got to keep the nipple, though.”
The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her breasts, she notes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, no need to bully me, I’m already having a hard period. How offensive! Ironically I said I’d avoid breast surgery because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. My plans were disrupted.”
Previous Struggles
Cornish is no stranger to illness. She feels her attitude toward illness has been so positive because she’s used to physical challenges. Many times they occur alongside professional successes, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or shock, to remind her not to be complacent. “Honestly, I feel fate says, ‘Things going well? Sit down.’ Ever since I was a child, it has always gone alongside moments of success for me; a serious or unusual issue has happened to my health.”
She recalls to her childhood, already starting her career featuring in the stage in the production (she was chosen at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and palpitations. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an intravenous line, and returning to the hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has joined the female band the group while studying at the academy. “I just got my first record deal, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in the year 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”
Wow, I say, wait, I need a moment. You really had a stroke at 17? She nods|agrees
