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You couldn’t make it up, the singer says. At that moment readying for her first album release in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and finally the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, feeling invincible. Then in spring she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The artist, birth name Jessica Cornish, is known for speaking her mind. The album, her latest release, was meant as an transparent story, tackling every bit of hardship she’d faced since she last recorded music (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, failed relationships, psychological manipulation, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The initial release, the song No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there existed a huge secret. The cancer. Then next release, the upbeat Living My Best Life, was released in May and she was giving interviews about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with her cancer. Subsequently she disclosed her condition, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She offers me her best “Are you kidding?” look. “I put out with a song called the track No Secrets. I’m conducting every press talk, and they inquire, ‘So what’s new with you?’ and I respond, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” the singer has just had to cancel tour dates because she’s awaiting reconstructive surgery.

Our interview takes place at a studio in London. She is wearing a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with detailed white appliqués, off-white boots and large glasses. Think rocker vibe meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the 1970s and I should have a partner with a mustache.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the film. “They used to call me that!” She beams. She is fast-thinking, bold and direct. She says she has always been interested in humor and is aiming for her initial standup show next year. “I love making people laugh. On stage I basically roast the crowd.”

Medical Challenges and Discovery

Cornish was planning an appearance at the Baftas when she discovered a mass. “I promptly visited to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they said, ‘It seems benign; you’ve got really good dense breast tissue.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and tingling in my hands whenever I get up.’ And they said, ‘Well, let’s just do a biopsy?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a Friday. The physician told her if it was serious she’d contact on the Monday. By then she had convinced herself it was okay. The way she describes it, it was simply too inconvenient to get cancer when she had so much on.

“We’re two weeks away from debuting the project after years away 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 jump on the Zoom expecting it’s all going to be positive, and she goes, ‘You might want to sit.’ You know that sad tone they use? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your biopsy results have indicated high-grade cancer cells.’” How did you respond? “I answered, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ My initial thought was, ‘I can’t die because my son needs me.’”

I’ve been labeled difficult for knowing myself

She found the surgery frightening and surreal. “I fear going under. They lead you. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just marched with a gown on and my backside out. Like a dystopian scene.” But, Cornish says, she’s been blessed. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but however Luckily it was detected early. I had the mastectomy a few months back and my affected breast now resembles a fruit under fabric.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her chest, she notes, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. So rude! It’s funny because I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

Cornish is no stranger to illness. She thinks her perspective on the cancer has been so upbeat because she’s experienced in medical emergencies. Many times they occur alongside peak moments, serving as a tap on the shoulder, or punch in the stomach, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel fate says, ‘You having a good time? Take a seat.’ Since childhood, it has consistently accompanied moments of success for me; something severe or obscure has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her youth, already starting her career performing in the stage in Whistle Down the Wind (she was selected at the age of nine years old). That’s when she was told about the heart condition WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards half a dozen years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the trio Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was ready to debut in the year 2020 I had a collision and my voice box shifted and I was unable to vocalize for a long period.”

Oi, I say, wait, I can’t keep up. At just 17? She nods|agrees