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You wouldn’t believe it, the singer says. There she was gearing up for her new album launch in nearly a decade, blissfully happy with her current love, and at long last the parent to a young child after struggling to conceive for ten years, on top of the world. Then in March she was told she had cancer in her breast.

The singer-songwriter, actual name Jessica Cornish, is famous for being brutally honest. The album, her latest release, was intended as an open book, tackling every moment of pain she’d experienced since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, pregnancy loss, broken romances, emotional abuse, suicidal thoughts) with typical candour. The first single, No Secrets, was released in April. But by then there remained a major undisclosed truth. Her diagnosis. Later second single, Living My Best Life, came out in May and she was speaking publicly about how she was living her best life, while at the same time dealing with the disease. A month later she went public, and in the start of summer she had a mastectomy.

She shoots me her best “Seriously?” look. “I come out with a song called No Secrets. I’m doing every interview, and they ask, ‘Any updates?’ and I’m, like, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” she has just had to postpone shows because she’s still waiting for cosmetic procedures.

We meet at a photography studio in the capital. She is wearing a beige fake-leather jacket, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, cream boots and big frames. Think motorcycle style meets 70s singer aesthetic. “As if I’m in the seventies and I should have a boyfriend with a big tache.” A biker reference, I say, recalling the film. “I was nicknamed that in school!” She grins. Cornish is sharp-witted, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always fancied doing comedy and is hoping to make her initial standup show soon. “I enjoy humor. When performing I basically roast the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was getting ready for an appearance at the Baftas when she noticed an abnormality. “I quickly sought to get it examined, had an ultrasound, and they told me, ‘It looks like nothing; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘But I can feel it. My arm hurts and pins and needles in my hands whenever I rise.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ It happened on March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The physician told her if it was concerning she’d reach out on the Monday. By then she had persuaded herself it was fine. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to get cancer when she had so much on.

“Just two weeks before from launching this thing after years away and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Are you free at six?’ And I was, like, ‘It’s virtual, probably routine.’ So I join the call expecting it’s all going to be fine, and she informs me, ‘Are you sitting down?.’ The solemn tone? And she says, ‘Unfortunately but your test results have indicated aggressive cancer.’” What did you say? “I answered, ‘Oh, that’s not ideal, is it?. What awful timing.’ Immediately I felt was, ‘I have to survive for my boy.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She viewed the procedure scary and bizarre. “I hate being put under. They lead you. You know when you have emergency surgery you roll down in a bed, but this time I just strolled down with a medical attire and my bum hanging out. You feel like you’re in an episode of Black Mirror.” But, she adds, she’s been blessed. No chemotherapy or radiation, just the procedure. “Cancer sucks, man, but yet Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal a few months back and my right breast now appears as a odd shape.” Another grin. “The nipple was preserved.”

The follow-up procedure is both medical and cosmetic. Her boobs, she observes, are now “different sizes. The size doesn’t match. That’s impolite! I reflected, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a rough time. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d not undergo augmentation because I’ve got obsessive tendencies, and I know they’d never be flawless. Cancer ruined that plan.”

Past Medical Issues

The singer is familiar with health problems. She believes her perspective on the cancer has been so optimistic because she’s experienced in health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, acting as a reminder, or punch in the stomach, to remind her not to assume everything is fine. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Enjoying yourself? Hold on.’ From a young age, it has often paired with moments of success for me; a major or strange event has happened to my health.”

She recalls to her youth, already beginning starring in the London theater in the production (she was selected at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue WPW, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as lightheadedness and heart flutters. “I attended rehearsals intermittently on an drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She jumps ahead several years, and 17-year-old Jess has joined the female band the group while attending the performing arts school. “I signed my initial contract, and I had a cerebral event. Then when I was about to put out music in 2020 I had a automobile accident and my larynx moved up and I lost my voice for a long period.”

Hey, I say, wait, I need a moment. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees